Return to the Southern Continent

[Jack Rothwell]

Tamina craned over Drusia's shoulder and squinted at the map.

"Not going the city then? Shame, like seeing new places. Umm... so where we going?" She pointed at one of the settlement names written upon it, being careful not to tear it with a claw. "Not good with human writing, we passing anything good?"

[Alberich]

"Oh, we've been to that city," said Udo. "It's where we went to the Red Shell and all those girls had to dance with you. But yes, a big loop around suits me. We've brought camping gear, anyway." He gestured to the pack on his back. "Too bad we didn't get those papers. They'd be worth a fortune to somebody."

But wherever he was flying, Argus did not see, or more likely did not care, that he had a pocket full of first-rate blackmail. Udo's ambition for riches was not consuming enough to make him bitter about it. Travelling and adventuring with these hot non-human babes was enough for him!

[OOC: I see there are a few unpleasant things that might happen on the loop - an encounter with these gas-warfare experts of Graybeard's or something else when they bed down. Whoever the inspiration strikes first! My adventure muse is napping but maybe not for long.]

[Graybeard]

[OOC:

[OOC: I see there are a few unpleasant things that might happen on the loop - an encounter with these gas-warfare experts of Graybeard's or something else when they bed down. Whoever the inspiration strikes first! My adventure muse is napping but maybe not for long.]

The nasty trio will be carefully routed away from Udo, Tamina and Drusia, at least for now. For one thing, their misadventures in Goriel could be entertaining. (Creative opportunities for you there, A.) For another, things will get messy when they finally do encounter Drusia, and it'll be more fun to prolong the agony. So to move a little closer to the first of those eventualities:]

"Wait a moment," Arsoro Kurou said mildly. By now his two companions realized that when Kurou's speech became particularly bland and smooth like that, he was up to something, so they paused in their trek, still in sight of the wagon with the dead horses hooked up to it. "I may have some modest magical resources that will allow us to take advantage of this windfall, despite your regrettable oversight." He directed the last comment to Haniko Goto, who recognized it for the serious insult it was; but by now, every member of the trio was already plotting revenge against the others, so it didn't really change anything.

What he did next would have gotten him exiled for life from Tsuirakushiti if he'd done it there, but this was the land of the barbarians, not the homeland. (Besides, Goto had been about to do the same thing.)

Magic gathered around the trio, and Kurou fashioned it into a beam directed at the dead horses, its color a baleful straw yellow. Moments later, the two equine corpses attached to the wagon stumbled to their feet. In response to a whistle from Kurou, they began to haul the wagon over to where the trio stood, their gait stiff-legged and mechanical, their eyes empty.

"Ladies? Shall we ride to Goriel in comfort?" he smiled ferally yet politely, with a formal little bow as the wagon drew near and stopped, the horses not seeming to be breathing at all.

[Jack Rothwell]

OOC Been a little busy over the last couple. I'll try to get something in all threads tomorrow./OOC

[Jack Rothwell]

Tamina's disappointment at not being able to see the city was cheered up for her knight protector's suggestion of camping. The three took off the road and began trekking across the more uncultivated terrain. The kobold stopped momentarily and held up a stubby finger.

"Wait."

She lifted one boot-clad foot to the hands and, with a fair amount of struggling and cursing (human garments weren't exactly designed for kobold manipulation) managed to get her restrictive footwear off and stuff them into her pack. The kobold massaged some life back into her numb toes and then smiled cheerfully.

"Kay!"

[Alberich]

Udo was bold enough by this point to help her with both things, getting those awkward human boots off and rubbing some life back into her feet. He was all for his companions taking off any restrictive garments they were of a mind to. It was just like in the illustrateds - they were so true to life! Now how about some no-elf-nudity-taboos?

The land was easy enough for them, used as they were to hiking, hunting, or marching. Their rations were still good, and there were ground squirrels if they wanted fresh meat - actually a little hunting might've netted them a wild sheep, if they'd wished it, but they had a mission to complete and no time for that. Udo expected a swift trip, more excitement, and then some loot and fun. Just now he was feeling glad to be alive, invincible, and on top of the world.

[Drusia]

Sadly, Udo was in for disappointment. At least for the moment, Drusia seemed content to keep her clothes on.

Once Tamina's boot situation was taken care of, Drusia set a brisk pace. Both her companions seemed enthuastic, and she didn't want to waste that energy.

As they walked, Drusia pondered if she might have time to slip back into Goriel and fake Anfisa's death after all. For whatever reason, Arman had jumped to the conclusion that Rose et al were behind her disapperance. Better to redirect that rage if possible onto one of the other clans. If Anfisa's body (or a close aproxmiation) turned up at the clan compound's gates with a mocking message from a rival clan, that should just about do it.

Still, getting there would require a long range gating, consiering their planned route. Udo had made it quite clear that getting closer was unwise. And a gating like that would wear her out again, particularly if it cut into her rest time to do so. Not to mention that finding an approprate body might well require some short-range jumps as well, not to mention some time searching.

She could alter their route some, cut it a little closer to the city - that would save her some energy, but it would put the group at greater risk while she was gone. Then again, while allies, neither Udo nor Tamina were her blood. Desiree was, and Rose might as well have been. That put protecting them at a higher priority.

So she walked in near silence, pondering routes, time-tables, and magical expendatures, trying to find a balance that would allow her to protect her family without endangering her new companions overly much.

-- Drusia

OOC: Too tired to write in First Person - wrote in Third cause it's easier. **yawn**

[Graybeard]

"Well, now what?" Bauti asked, using the same half-innocent, half-snide tone of voice that had proven so successful at setting the Tsuirakuans' teeth on edge previously.

The zombie horses had drawn the group considerably closer to Goriel, better than half way, and the taller steeples of the city could be picked out on the distant horizon. However, necromantic magic has its limits, unless its wielder is a ghod-supercharged, insane half elf. Arsoro Kurou's sanity might have been in question, but the other parts of the description didn't fit. There was a brief flare of magic being sucked out of the horses' bodies and dispersing in the atmosphere, and suddenly the horses collapsed in a literal heap, almost pulling the wagon over.

At least they'd come to a halt outside one of the more prosperous-looking farms. Servants were bringing the cattle in from the fields for the night and going back to their own barracks. It didn't take long for Bauti to pick one out who was driving an ox cart and "appropriate" the cart from him using more conventional means. "A bit slower," she said, "but reliable and simple." Her face got that feral look again. "Besides, if we get short on rations, we can just turn this overgrown moo-cow into flank steaks. Speaking of which:"

Magic arced out of her hand, toward the recently stolen wagon and the dead horses. With a thunderous booom, they were enveloped in magical flame, and a moment later, reduced to ashes.

There, Bauti thought. That would serve to throw off pursuit. It would also make a point to these megalomaniac humans: an elf was not to be f*cked with. She theatrically dusted off her hands and hopped into the oxcart wearing a parody of an evil smile, and the group headed for Goriel.

She would not have been so proud of her little achievement had she realized that it had been watched.

High atop the widow's-walk that adorned the farm house, an old woman, the dowager lady of the farm, had been taking the early evening air and reminiscing about her late husband. She hadn't seen the demise of her farm hand; Bauti had had the good tactical sense to, er, "transact" that down in a little hollow and out of sight of the farm house. However, the zombie horses had simply fallen where they fell. As soon as the booom from the explosion reached the farm house, the startled widow turned her late husband's spyglass on its source ... and shortly thereafter, she was using one of the rare communication devices that existed in Goriel, to make contact with the clan that was the farm's protectors.

"Three of them. One looks Tsuirakuan, one I can't tell much about ... and the Great Cat take me if the last one don't look like an elf. And they're heading into town."

[Jack Rothwell]

The trio continued their long route around the city. Tamina kept ahead, keeping her eyes and drits* open for bad men and any local wildlife that would be better suited on a skewer and turning over a campfire. As they walked, the kobold periodically stole glances back at her elven companion with a mixture of fascination and geniality.

"Never seen elfy-people 'fore." She said. "Well... seen pictures n' stuff, but don't know much 'bout them. They all good with magics? Pretty? Your family who went bad, he strong?"


*-ears

[Graybeard]

As the ox cart trundled toward Goriel, a -- flaw -- in the primitive communication system used by the woman at the farm cropped up.

She had tried to tell her contact in her protective clan that the three people she'd seen incinerating the wagon were over to the southeast corner of the farm, heading north. The man at the other end, however, heard something different, because of the poor fidelity of the transmission: these intruders were heading southeast. Just as they might be if they were fleeing from Goriel, bearing, say, a renegade getera. Or possibly incriminating papers.

A small but heavily armed party was launched from the clan's compound in the city, on a path that would take them not toward Goto, Kurou and Bauti, but toward Drusia, Udo and Tamina.

None of this, of course, was known to the nasty trio. They held a furtive discussion of tactics as they advanced. Even though this city was populated by barbarians, as all three agreed, there was strength in numbers, and the Gorielians had plenty of those. So how to get into and out of the place unobserved, with a bit of larceny in the process? That seemed better than a head-on invasion walking in and simply asking for a map.

"Leave that to me," Bauti smiled, an expression that would have caused cold chills in any watchers other than the exact two who were with her. "A little invisibility spell should take care of things." Magic flashed in her eyes, and true to her words, she simply vanished, although an astute observer would have noticed that an indentation remained in the blanket that formed a crude seat in the ox cart.

"It should indeed," Arsoro Kurou answered, lying through his teeth. "I believe we have a plan. You go and use your -- superior elven skills --" he managed to avoid a guffaw as he spoke the words -- "and we will secure our transportation while remaining outside the city. Let us proceed."