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[Rytiko]

"You would make one because you have no choice. You could clearly do nothing to defend the town, so what on earth makes you believe that you would stand a chance if you encountered one of these creatures on your way?

In short, I will be following you regardless of your answer. And as for the boy, we must protect the survivors that cannot protect themselves."

The arrogance of Leon Thelemous seemed eternal. Now, it would seem to the less perceptive that he was actually suggesting that he could put up a fight against whatever had done this. In truth however, the young knight was afraid... From what the boy said, no attacks seemed to phase the assailants. What would make his attacks any different? He hoped that, in a group, they stood a chance of escaping at the very least.

[Mizukage]

I stand awhile as if in thought, but my desires had already been met, a meat shield and a booty boy, what else could I desire? they seem to be good chaps, this will work. I continue on past the two and call back "so be it, but I do not have time to wait, we humans are now prey and to draw attention to our location would be folly, follow of your own accord Sir Badtouch, but remember, I Do not take kindly to failures. Your will be joining us to boy? lets go then."

With that I break into the trees, always searching for trouble, I like trouble.

[Kinewa]

Eli followed without a word. He felt amazingly lucky that the bounty hunter had spoken up, because he had no idea what to say. He was determined to become useful to his companions, in some way or another. And as he walked just behind the two men his mind was racing in hopes of finding some skill that he could offer in return for their taking care of him.

They travelled on, and although Eli had to take two steps for each long stride of his older companions, he still kept a high energy level. Despite all of the horrific events from the night before, this was more free than Eli had ever been in his life.

[Rytiko]

"Quite the hasty one, I see... Though failure is something I do not take kindly to either, therefore there shall be no such thing on my part," Leon said as he picked up his paste slightly to keep up with him. He had also considered correcting the man about his name, but saw no harm in letting him call him what he wished to. Making sure to keep close, occasionally looking back to the struggling boy, the trio set off on their northern-bound journey.

[Queztatlapoca]

All his life he didn't concern himself with the affairs of the outside world. Always was he happy to be by himself. But recently he felt a disturbance with nature. A great force was stirring. Something beyond his comprehending. More immediately however he felt the presence of a group of wanderers enter into his domain. He would stay hidden in his grove a while longer though. His wished to discern their intentions. It had been a long time but if they seemed friendly enough he would approach them and see if they knew anything about the "disturbance". If they weren't friendly however he would allow the gods to judge the in the afterlife.

[Mizukage]

Returning from my habitual position as scout I find my companions tromping across the open fields we have taken, instead of the much used road. With a sigh I say "your bulk rattles too much Sir Badtouch, it would be wiser for you to keep it down, a blind onelegged thorn deamon would have no trouble finding you." seeing that my slight reference to the beasts from the town startle the boy I turn on him.

"and you boy, how out of shape you are! you blow wind like Nistir, the North! you two are impossible, I would be sorely disapointed if you were to draw unwanted attention to me."

I crouch down and clear a patch of earth and directing thier attentions to the rudimentary map I create.

"now then, if you ignorant lot can get this through your thick skulls, pay attention, it may save your life. I have chosen this path for one excellent reason, up ahead lies the northmost tip of the Darkwoods, this area is surrounded with many myths and legend, it may be one of the most dangerous places on this plane."

I pause to draw our location and our surroundings on the ground.

"you are lucky however that I know the secret of the passage, we must travel only during the day, and cause no harm to the forest or its residents. You must follow me in all that I do, and for the love of Simic be quiet! No whining, no clinking no weezing and absolutely no talking! hand signals will be used. Questions? no? Good, I want to be in the fortest before midday, it won't take long to get through. And mind yourselves, we are being watched, two parties."

and with that I stand up, scratch out the drawing thouroughly and double pace it towards the trees.

[Rytiko]

Leon had to strain very hard to keep from letting out a small chuckle. Yelling, pointing, and still with the name calling, he told them of his plan. Though it seemed a good plan, by the performance in delivering it, Leon (for some reason dubbed 'Sir Badtouch') had finally come to his conclusion about the man before him. 'Mhm... He's insane.

Insane as he may be, he did have a bit of a point. His chain mail was making too much noise if they wished to remain undetected. He forced himself out of the vest with surprisingly less difficulty than he had had in the past. Folding it as neatly, he wedged it between himself and his belt. The size, though folded, was enough to keep it tightly fastened... though it was slightly uncomfortable, even having loosed his belt a small bit. At least it'd make less noise.

Leon was filling admittedly more endangered without any form of armoring other than a cotton shirt. White, none the less... He wasn't the stealthy kind of fighter. With a final sigh before they set off, he looked to their 'leader', the most demanding nutcase he had ever met in his admittedly short life. He regretted having to take orders from him, though he truly did wish to help. If this was the best way, then so be it.

[Mizukage]

The branches of the forest in front of us were so tight knit that the morning sun had trouble penetrating them, the whole atmosphere gave off an aura of gloom, to the untrained eye. To me it was beautiful.

Stopping just outside the edge of the grove I turn once more to my companions, good company, if a little useless. I whisper to them in a conspirational tone, " remember what I said, follow me, stay in sight of each other. I have lead, boy in the middle and sir Badtouch has the vaunted position of Vanguard. be respectful, The watchers are not favorable towards human presence. Now come. And put some dirt on that shirt if you want to live."

And with that I pull up my hood so that my cloak covered my entire body, I walked confidently into the forest, the shifting colors soon hiding me from sight.

"Hurry."

[Queztatlapoca]

As the adventurers entered the forest he called his home, the man called out to a local wolf pack and "spoke" to the alpha male.

"Dearest Alpha a band of men has entered our home. I would wish for you to follow them. Allow yourself to be seen. Do not harm them unless they attempt to harm you. Do not worry i will be nearby."

As the mans old friend bounded off he quietly mused to himself about the people he had abandoned so long ago, and wondered hopefully that they had changed for the better.

He then "opened" a nearby tree, thanking it for passage, and started sliding through the interconnected root system towards the group.

[Megell]

(( This happens a few days before the town had been invaded. Its just how he managed to get into the said woods and how he currently is stuck there.))

Miguel hated the idea, him, work. What a preposterous, insane idea. He had never liked the prospect of doing anything other then lounging around all day. He even found the idea of actually walking in the convoy to be stressful and a pain in the ass. He never liked walking, studying, training or much of anything. He would of preferred to go to some party, get smashed, pick up some pretty waitress? and the rest was self-explanatory.

He let out a loud sigh and drooped his shoulders while he walked down the major path towards the small town. ?Socksville??, ?Strikesvile??, ?SmokesVille?? He couldn?t even think what was the stupid little place?s name; he heartily wished some natural disaster would wipe it off the face of the earth.

His heavy backpack rattled with random pots and pans as he walked further down the road. It weighed too much for someone like him to lug around all day. And the hot sun didn?t help to ease his case much at all. He wondered why he was doing this again.

It came back to him in an instant, his brother now the leader of the convoy, had told him it was about time that he did something useful other then picking out the best trade routes. So in his usual matter of fact way his brother had assigned him to recon a local town for trading potential. He of course had protested, but his bother as convincingly as ever, had managed to get him to do the task by threatening to lock him in? he couldn?t even finish the thought.

Cobbling further down the winding road, he began to kick a single stone ahead of himself to keep himself entertained. Like a child he focused his utter attention on the stone, kicking and then changing his path to be in line to kick it again. He didn?t even noticed what appeared to be a rolling mist coming in from behind him.

Running up to the stone once more and giving it a swift kick, he sent it rocketing nearly ten meters off ahead of him in a steep air bound arch. He watched as it hit what appeared to be a small badger that was in the grass. The creature however didn?t move, but it stayed, seemingly staring transfixed on him.

Confused, Miguel picked up another pebble of the road. Tossed it once into the air and catching it to test its weight, he threw it at the little creature. The pebble hit it square between the eyes, but the critter remained. Hearing of animals with a strange mind altering diesis refereed to as ?hydrophobia, or rabies?, Miguel cautiously approached the small animal, not noticing at the same time he was now enveloped in fog and a large shadow was starting to block the sun out. He came within a few feet of the creature, crouched, reached out with his left hand to touch it, he came within an inch or too. Then the animal ran back into the bushes.

Sighing a bit, Miguel stood up again, clapped his hands together and yelled in a rather exuberant tone. ?WELL THIS PLACE IS INTRESTING ENOUGH I GUESS, EVEN THE ANIMALS ARE HICKS!! NEVER SAW A PERSON BEFORE!! Leaning back, and placing his hands on his hips he let out a loud bellowing laugh at his own sense humour. He suddenly stopped though, the air felt suddenly very cold.

His eyes went wide, as he noticed there was a thick layer of fog blocking out the sun. But through it he saw what appeared to be a strange, floating creature of some type. It was massive, nearly the size of several large buildings, and it was slowly moving across the sky. Its shape was similar to a giant carp, but its extremities were very peculiar. It had eight bulging black eyes that moved separate of each other, each searching the countryside for something. It had several large, incredible long, tentacles hanging from its belly, each one moved separately of each other, and occasionally one of the tentacle would hit the ground, and a loud thudding sound would follow, then a few seconds later a ear splitting screech would emerge from the spot where the thing had touched the ground.

?What the hell?? Miguel whispered under his breath. His eyes traced the skyline as he said it; he saw at least fifteen of these? ?Things? flying in a line towards some unknown destination. He whispered a prayer to some god as he stared at the things, praying that he would not be spotted. Apparently, god found him lazy with prayer as well. All at once, he saw what appeared to be one of the eyes of one of the creatures farthest from him turn and focus on him. As it did, the rest of its eyes did the same. It starred at him, and then opened it mouth, a vile black mist poured out of it as it made a sound. It was a low, grumbling sound, like a foghorn mixed with a thunderclap from some wear in the distance. Miguel felt himself holding his breath, silently praying as hard as he could, trying reverently to make up for lost time.

All at once all the other creatures eyes focused on him, they all let out the same rumbling groan as the first had. At the same time, the one nearest to Miguel raised one of its tentacles high up into the air and began to slam it down towards him. Miguel at this point was begging to stumble backwards.

A large crash emerged from the ground about twelve yards from where Miguel stood, he felt the vibrations and he fell backwards onto his rear. Hesitantly, like a child in a bad dream, he turned his attention towards the area the sound had come from. His eyes wide in terror, he wanted to run, but his legs would not obey him, his mind screamed at the body to run, but nothing happened. He began to feel dizzy, he hadn?t breathed in a long time, he needed air, he needed sanctuary, he needed help, ?God?? he murmured breathlessly, questioning why the divine would not intercede on his behalf.

The air was filled with the sent of decay, filth, death, and a thousand other imaginables His wide eyes fully began to register the terror of the demons before him. Its tentacle had embedded itself hard into the soft soil of the earth, impregnating it with its presence. He trailed it back up to the creature the floated above him, its eyes still focused on him, wide, alert, and watching. Its upper body made some sort of strange movement, and then something odd happened. The tentacle began to swell at the base, and then a large pulse went down its length in a quick sliding action. The pulse hit the ground, and there was another thudding sound. Then the tactical in one action pulled itself out of the ground then moved to another location, striking the earth again.

Miguel followed it, hearing thud after thud, as it arched across the sky. He wasn?t sure if it was he heart or the thing itself. He looked back to the creature in the sky, its gaze was now somewhere else, and he let out a gasp of air from deep within the pits of his lungs.

He however heard another one of those earth piercing screeches, then another, and another, each one closer then before. He then remembered that each of them followed the thud of the tentacle. He turned back to where the thing and struck the ground. He then saw something very odd.

The ground around the tentacle had been blown back into a somewhat large crater, and inside the crater was something. Miguel?s mind tried to put what he saw into words. He remembered when he was younger, how his brother and him had kept small caterpillars, watch them turn into silk cocoons, and then butterflies. He wished he were there right now, rather then here. The thing in front of him was like his childhood pets middle stage, however, this one was black, covered in a sort of mucus and look like a child had taken it an ripped it apart, then some insane toy maker had stitched it back together.

The cocoon split and cracked, a swirling fog wisped out of it as it did do. Pieces of its shell collapsed and crashed into the earth around it. Miguel stood staring at it transfixed. Suddenly a large arm came splitting out of one of its sides, then another on the other. Each one was covered in a black fur. The arms reached around and pulled at the cocoon, pulling on it and ripping it apart. A black, armoured apelike beast was beneath it.

It stood for a second, raised its arms into the air and let out a bounding screech like the others before it had done. It hurt Miguel?s ears, it was all around him for an instant, and then it was gone. When the sound left the area, he looked over again to see the beast bounding towards him, a large stone axe in its right hand.

Miguel stood up and stared at the creature for a split second, then realized it was charging towards him, intent on blood. He froze as if staring at death itself, the creature through its axe at him. Be it dumb luck, or divine interference the axe missed him and hit his bag of supplies that now was lying next to him. The loud pang the axe made off the now destroyed metal innards brought him back to his senses. He reached over, grabbed a small sack of money and some other personal possession and ran off the road into the forest beyond. He heard a crashing sound as the creature began to peruse him into the dense area of the woods; it smashed trees and rocks out of its path on its pursuit of him.

Miguel vaguely recalled that he was near an enchanted wood his brother had told him to steer clear of. He now was going to use that same wood as his advantage, he ran at it full out. Because of where he had been on the path, he was at farthest forty yards from its boundary. He bounded along, but at the same time he reached inside of his bag and pulled out several long strands of mettel wire. He was going to take advantage of the terrain. He knew that the forest was only a few yards away, but also, less then a few yards was a cliff, it was almost one hundred and fifty feet tall and would probably kill any thing that fell from it. He threw the wires off to his side, lassoing it around a tree to his side then he long jumped forward.

He suddenly was in broad daylight, the forest was gone, and the sky was all around him, in almost a comical way he felt like he was flying for a split second? then the world resumed. The lines went snug and he felt himself swing around in a large arch, the wires pulling him back to the cliff.

At the same time, the beast that was only a few steps behind him burst out of the woods, it looked startled as it looked over to Miguel. Miguel raised his free hand to a salute and spoke in a happy voice, ?Check mate bud?. The beast?s eyes went wide as it hurled towards the ground, looking up at Miguel with a look of bewilderment. It couldn?t believe it had just been killed. It was enveloped by the canopy of the forest below then disappeared. Not even a second later a loud crash was heard from the ground below.

Miguel swung back to the cliff; he was stuck in an alcove in which the ledge was pushed farther out from the wall. He therefore could grab onto it. He sighed, ?Man, this is work thing is too troublesome.? Groaning, he began to pull himself up the strands of metal. However, he suddenly heard a twang. And he felt himself slip down a bit in height.

?Damn it,? he swore as thin metal stand cut into his fingers making them bleed. The wires were snapping under his weight. He knew he should of used more. Another snapping sound came from the wires, and hell fell a little father. Miguel began to try to rapidly clime the threads, yet his bleeding hand made it impossible. When he tried to climb, the blood would make him slip further down. He heard wires snapping like crazy, and then he felt like he was flying again.

He closed his eyes, and heard someone distant scream. He heard himself scream, and then everything went black.

((Well, a little out of character information. Miguel didn?t die, he fell, hit his head on a branch, then got his foot stuck in a vine and is currently handing from a tree in the forest. His bag of coins has smashed open and been littered across the ground as well. Just consider him close enough to the path for the money to be noticed.))

[Mizukage]

Pushing my agility and speed to the max I plow through the underbrush, making all effort to not leave a trace (this is what I do, I am very skilled at it). due to me distance ahead of the party I come across the trader first.

'My lucky day, a corpse with some coin.'

I stride up to the body and find that there is still a little life in it.

"hmmm, aahh. Unfortunate for you mmm? that I would be the one to find you. Fool."

I take a knife out and grab the man by his hair and pull his head forward.

"Now then, what to do with you hmmm?"

Using the knife I pin his shirt to the tree so that he is out of my way as I pick up his fallen money, all the while listening to the crash of my followers as they try to find me.

I stand back up after grabbing what could be found and say to the trader.

"mmmm, Don't look at me like that, if you weren't so useless you wouldn't have been in this situation. ah, Now, I have a deal for you! the price you have just paid is more than enough to save you from, hmmmm a long and, painful death of exposure. Heh, I guess I'll just finish you now then."

And just as I pull the knife back out to slit his throat my comrades join me.

'unfortunate'

[Kinewa]

Out of breathe, tired, thirsty, and wheezing from his efforts to wade through the waist high vegetation, Eli continued on using the last of his strength. He had observed that Leon was walking a bit slower than what his normal pace ought to be. Eli was greatful that this older man had taken such steps not to leave him behind.

His other companion, on the other hand, seemed to have no moral dilemmas with leaving them behind. He moved along ahead of them with ease, as though he had made trips such as this many times before. If this man's stories were true, he probably did. It was not long before they lost sight of their faster companion, and it made Eli feel slightly uneasy. He wasn't sure what was scarier; not knowing where Lolith was in case he needed his protection, or not knowing where he was in case he had planned to attack.

It was not long before he heard Lolith's voice, seemingly talking to someone else up ahead. Curious, the boy attempted to sneak up on the conversation, but clumsily stepped on some crackly leaves, making his attempts useless. Leon, who had seemed to have heard the voice as well, cautiously moved forward as well, his curiousity seemingly peaked.

As Eli reached Lolith, he saw the man draw a long, sinister knife. He was standing near a nearly dead stranger, whose hands were bleeding and eyes were wide with fear. Before thinking any further, Eli bolted towards them, yelling with fear mixed with terror.

"Stop! What do you think you're doing?!"

Lolith turned his gaze to him, keeping the stranger in the corner of his eye.

"You yourself told us that we had to be careful in this area! How do you not know that the watchers of the forest will not be angered by this obvious perversion of the natural order of things? What if this man has become allied with someone important in the forest? Do you want to get us all killed?! I truly thought you were wiser than this, Lolith!"

Tears streamed down Eli's face. He was panicked. He had never seen a man killed before the mist from the night before, and he surely did not want to see someone killed right now.

[Mizukage]

"Shhh, boy, not so loud. What do you think I'm doing? i wouldn't leave a poor suffering fool to such a death, I was just about to cut him down you see, what would have happened if I had not come by? wolves, birds beasts, imagine being eaten alive, not a pleasant death"

I sidestep around the body lean forwards and say into his ear "we'll get you down buddy, hold still" then i wisper so only he and I can hear "hmmm ah, if you mess with me, you'll wish for the birds and beasts to devour you before I am done with you, understand Hmmm?"

and with that I step back and throw the knife so it cuts cleanly through the vine folding the body.

"thump!"

" Now what are we to do with him? he needs immediate care that you can't provide him with. I have an Idea but... meh, nevermind."

[Rytiko]

So the insane bandit was known as Lolith... Leon silently humored himself at the oddity of the name, but decided it was of no benefit to continue. After all, there was a man on the verge in death that was just carelessly allowed to fall to the ground.

"Immediate care indeed. Though I don't think it would be of such necessity had you been even a bit more careful in cutting him down," Leon said in response. Truth be known though, he had no conflict with Lolith's original intent. It would probably be for the best to just put him out of his misery. He'd become a cumbersome liability, and with no way to treat him, he would probably die before they got him to someone who could help him.

"Hey," he said as he cupped a hand over the boy's shoulder. "I know that you've seen too much bloodshed. More than anyone should ever see. However, we must consider the fact that we've no way to aid him. He'll be cumbersome, and will probably die before we can treat him. Even with my holy magic, there is nothing I can do with my admittedly limited skill level. Unless you've something you're hiding from us, we haven't much other choice but to accept that he will die."

He had spoke in the most considerate tone he'd managed for a long time. It could almost be considered father-like. He realized the boy's conflict and understood it fully... But the fact remained that there was little other option.

"Unless..." Leon quietly spoke. "Lolith! If we can make a slight detour, I may have an idea. There was a small clearing surrounded with herbs that I passed on my way from Whisper. I recognized one from my studies as a child - it is commonly used in medicine, and with the application, we may be able to help him. There are no guarantees though, and... Well, even I could sense powerful magic in the area. My senses for such things aren't too keen, so if I could feel it, it must be incredible. On that note, it could be dangerous."

He had spoken as though he was asking a question, though it was both an indirect form of order and a challenge. The look in his eyes said it all - he was up for anything, and was fully prepared to risk his life to test his bravery and command ability. If at all lacking, Leon would attempt to seize the position Lolith had granted himself.

[Mizukage]

"hmpf, foolish meatshield, running around the multiverse looking for sidequests, all the aid we need is right here. But like I said it is rather drastic. there is a force in this forest that can be summoned, but you must light the trees on fire, he will be summoned by the departing spirits of the trees and he can heal this interloper, we don't have much time so you should hurry, I will try to stop the bleeding and help him a little, I have a few items that'll work, here" I toss my flint and tinder to the boy " we need a huge fire, that oak he was hanging in will work"

and with that I give a smirk and turn to the body, taking out a flask of whiskey I had grabbed at the tavern the night before and pour some of it into the mans cuts.

[Rytiko]

With a shrug of his shoulders, smile, and a quite unnecessary hair flip, Leon accepted his failure. He was worried that the plan may not be the best, as he had never known anything residing in the Darkwood to be friendly - Especially if you harmed the wood. Knowing that his objection would get him nowhere though, he turned away and went to assist Eli with the task given to him. There was nothing he could do to help Lolith, and even if he tried he would probably be told to back off...

"I'll never be accustomed to taking orders, especially from a madman," Leon whispered to no one but himself. With a sigh, he called out to the boy to wait for him and continued on in his direction.

[Kinewa]

Eli stroked the large tree gently with his right hand, feeling the rough bark thoughtfully. He had been told that the trees of this forest were almost alive, but he felt obliged to help the wounded stranger. If it meant burning down this giant of nature, then he would do what he must. The boy whispered a sincere apoligy to the tree and began to collect bits of kindling and dry vegetation. He gathered them around the tree and with Leon's assistance, started the fire.

[Queztatlapoca]

Normally he would have felt the tree's pain it's anguish, but sliding through the trees it nearly crippled him. The life in his eyes flared higher then they ever have. But something soothed them, he heard an apolgy. From the one lighting the fire. Almost immeditly he stepped out of a nearby tree to see one of the ancient oaks set ablaze. his eyes widened as a tear trickled down his cheek. He raised his left arm hand relaxed and closed his eyes. Suddenly hundreds of vine sprouted from the ground and smothered the rising fire. He noticed the culprits then and said as if speaking from all the trees around them "Who are you to defile our home!?" as he finished those words the wolves came forward to surround the group

[Mizukage]

'so the rumors are true'

At the first appearance of the woodsman I pour the remaining whisky all over myself and leapup into the trees just as the wolves enter the grove. 'excellent timing again'

I call down to the strange plant man " nice to see you uji-san, we are in dire need of assistance, forgive the boy, it was the only way we knew to get your attention."

I climb through the grasping branches, barely avoiding it attempts to restrain me

" we came across that vagrant, we are but poor refugees, we had no manner in which to aid him. we knew tales of your kindness, and we knew that someone as wise in the world could understand this new threat to humanity better than any, help the man and spare the lad his ignorance, we have had trying times!"

[Queztatlapoca]

"Do not attempt to flatter me, it will get you no where" The man approached the wounded man and placed a hand an inch above his head. A brillant blue light began to shine in the space between his hand the the vagrants forehead. It ceased as quickly as it began.
"He will be fine"
"And the boy has already apoligized though with the tension i sense i believe it was not his idea to harm that great oak"
"New threat? I've felt a filth in nature...something i cannot describe, and i was hoping you savages could tell me more"
Then he said with a chuckle
"And get down from the trees before you get hurt, some of them are more like beasts than plants"