Tales of Faerun

[GrueMaster]

Tak'we nodded in response, though he knew that his wounds would likely cause him no small amount of pain. "Yesss, thisss one can keeep up with the horssesss." He reached for the bandages Nawen held and took some and one of the salves, nodding in thanks. "Give thisss one a moment. Thessse wounds will hinder the journey if left unattended." The thri'kreen worked at an unusually fast rate, obviously used to patching up such wounds. He made a set of makeshift slings for his injured arms. Then he took some of the remaining bandages, made a rather disgusting gagging sound and spat a viscous liquid onto them and proceeded to wrapped them around the large hole in his chitin, hissing as he tightened the material. Then he picked up his gythka and nodded to Rhaine. "Thisss one isss ready now." Edited January 6, 2013 by GrueMaster

[tokyobiohazard]

William sat atop a stout pony, his beard waving with the slight breeze. He arranged all of his papers, satisfied, and closed the leatherbound journal he'd just filled in, pulling a blank one out of his saddlebag. "Ah, I've just finished this one, and now we have another member on our hands! Wonderful! It'll really draw in more readers with such a diverse group, you know! So many races will idolize the member of their own race in the party, I think. Though, We're going to have to do something about having two red-haired half elves. Alphonse, would you be terribly offended if I colored your hair with magic? I can make it any color you like. Pink is quite manly, we could try that. Or my personal favorite, purple. Very regal."

 

Alphonse raised an eyebrow at the wizard in passing as he walked to his horse. "I prefer red, thanks. I'm sure Rhaine is of the same opinion. You'll just have to tell people to stop having red-haired children, I suppose." He tripped over a small rock and stumbled before catching himself. "Gods, I think your potion actually made me taller. I feel very disoriented, as if my legs and arms are too long."

 

The old halfling stroked at his beard, observing the youth for a moment, "You know, I think you're right. You seem to have gained an inch or two, at least... Arva, look at this! He's just begging to be the most forgotten character in the story here! First he's born with the same hair color and race as Rhaine and now he's as tall and lean as you are! Not quite as handsome, though!" He turned to Alphonse again, "I'm sorry, but he's very handsome. You are a close second."

 

Alphonse sighed. He was used to the old wizard's madness by now, so it didn't bother him much. He slid his spellbook inside a saddlebag and mounted his chestnut horse, Lily, glad he'd gotten one that was tall for a mare. His added size wasn't a problem for the gentle beast, and he patted her neck in appreciation.

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine smirked at the wizard's remarks before digging her heels into her steed's flanks and plunging deeper into the High Forest.

 

It was not long before they found Ravenna's carriage. It had drawn up outside a magnificent and ancient elven ruin. Judging from the crumbling towers and parapets, it would have been a stunning place in its heyday. Now, though, it loomed over the surrounding forest with a dark and decrepit atmosphere.

 

As they neared the black carriage, Rhaine squinted at it. It was oddly abandoned. The horses and driver still waited, though, as if Ravenna had merely stepped away for a few minutes. The Doomguide spurred her steed around to the front and was surprised to see that neither the steeds nor the driver moved. They simply stood and sat stock-still, like statues. Rhaine slowly drew her weapon and gestured for the others to do the same. The answering hum from Touch of Death confirmed her suspicions.

 

The hellish steeds and the driver were all undead.

[GrueMaster]

Tak'we saw Rhaine pull her sword and immediately readied his own weapon. He looked at the horses and driver, something about them bothering him, a feeling of wrongness nagging him about them. The thri'kreen strode up to Rhaine's side and then he noticed it: their scent. They didn't smell alive! Tak'we hiss vehemently. Undead. "Bonesss that walk. Filthy *katcha-tktk!* Defilersss of nature." He quickly became agitated that such foul creatures even existed, but he didn't move towards the abominations, as he noticed that Rhaine had not move towards them any further. "Isss thisss the work of the female you hunt, Rhaine?" Tak'we hissed, clearly angry. "Sssuch abominationsss sshould never exissst!"

[Ithildin]

Echo accepted Tak'we's proffered hand and replied, "I'm actually fully grown for one of my kind. Other races know us as 'halflings' or 'the good folk', but we call each other 'hin'." She watched Mahira shake his hand next, carefully avoiding the claws, and then the two moved away to make room for everyone else.

 

* * *

Mahira and Echo reined in their horses side by side and watched the Doomguide investigate the black carriage from a better vantage point. Frowning, Echo leaned toward Mahira and muttered, "Do you remember the carriage that passed us outside Loudwater?"

 

"I'm afraid I don't," Mahira replied.

 

"I was on watch, and I woke you; it was the dead of night, and the horses avoided the trees in the dark. You said the driver must have eyes like a panther's, and I said there might not be a driver at all! You don't recall? Maybe this is the same one!"

 

"You have a remarkable mind for details," the Calishite marveled. "I remember now, but I don't think this is the same -"

 

At that moment, Rhaine and Tak'we drew their weapons; Mahira and Echo promptly followed suit, wondering what was the matter. Upon the thri'kreen's mention of "bones that walk", Mahira realized her friend might be right about the carriage after all.

[Naktis]

Nawen watched the undead horses and the carriage driver. "I really need to get a horse myself." She thought and quickly added, "alive one." She wondered why the undead? Was it to frighten everyone who caught a glimpse of the carriage or just a wish to stand out?

 

She glanced at the elven ruins wondering what kind of elves used to live in here, how magnificent this place used to be once. "Valendil would love to see this." She thought but there was no time for such things. She looked at the Doomguide, her blade ready.

[AurianaValoria1]

Upon further inspection, Rhaine found that the undead horses' manes were made of black feathers instead of hair. Yet, no matter how close she came to them, they did not move. Sensing a trap, she gestured to the others, "Search the carriage. Take anything that might tell us about her plans or her connections with the Cult of the Dragon. Journals, papers...anything."

 

The Doomguide herself stayed close to the mysterious steeds and driver, just in case they objected.

[mythicdawnmaster]

Xallistine dismounted Fatty as they rode up to the ancient fort. It truly would have been a remarkable place back in it's full glory, but now it was simply a decrepit shell of a now dead culture, casting an eerie, uneasy shadow across the surrounding area. For good reason too, this was no simple fort, it had been the home of Miora in the last years of her life, and was now the tomb of Ravenna's dead mother. However that was a secret kept hidden, one that only Ravenna knew.

 

Aricia observed the undead steeds and the driver as they stood perfectly still, it sent a shudder down her spine. "What tortured souls.." She remarked quietly, her nose wrinkled in disgust at the necromancy.

 

Xallistine approached the carriage, and looked the jet horses over. "Hmm, these were certainly created by the witch, not simply revived from dead carcasses. She is an artist in this dark area it seems." he said, running a hand over a feathered mane. To Rhaine's instruction he nodded "I shall search the luggage." He spoke informatively, making his way around to the back, to search through Ravenna's things. There were bags full of jewelery, clothes and fragrances, cosmetic items and beaty treatments, but no sign of any reading material. He had a feeling she did not carry around such things in her luggage; For they could easily be stolen off the back of the black carriage, so he walked around to the side of the vehicle, and opened one of the polished, and silver trimmed doors. What happened next made the Ulitharid jump back, flaying his arms and tentacles around as a flock of Ravens burst out of the carriage like a jack in a box, pecking at him until they were shooed away. The birds of death sat atop the rafters of the fort, watching with beady black eyes. "Well, now i know my suspicions were correct." He said, bending so he could enter the carriage. The padded, fine capittone leather seats were hard and looked unconfortable, and from many years of use, there was a very small indentation in the centre of the back seat, clear that this was the witch's preferred seat. Xallistine felt around the backs of the seats for any journals or notes, but found nothing, on intense inspection, he found a very small clasp beneath the brim of Ravenna's seat, he turned it, and lifted. The seat opened up neatly, to reveal a hidden compartment, within was a multitude of books and tomes, but the one that caught the Ulitharid's eye was a small leather bound journal, it was completely black save for a golden R stamped on the front cover. He undid the clasp at the side of the book, which held the thing closed, as he stepped down from the carriage.

 

Xallistine flicked through the pages, eyes wide with the information he was soaking up. Ravenna was far more a trickster than she was a witch! he read her entry's detailing her killing of Everdawn's first wife, her adoption of his children, her marriage, and on the final page it simply read. "I have the eye. Now we shall see how the gods tremble before me. Thank you mother." Ravenna's handwriting was a neatly formed script, her letters exaggerated and finely formed.

 

"Rhaine, look." he said, walking over to the doomguide, handing her the journal. "There are more articles in a compartment within the carriage, i believe details of the cult are in there too."

 

------------------------

 

Ravenna smiled "This is all i need. There is the simple matter of summoning the goddess to this realm... which will require some bloodshed. I shall drain the lifeblood of Sune's priestesses into her offering bowl... and summon her to this plane. Then... the rest shall go down in history." Ravenna smirked, they were closing in on their destination.

Edited January 7, 2013 by mythicdawnmaster

[AurianaValoria1]

No sooner than Xallistine had handed her the book, the driver and horses came to life. The hellish steeds reared and neighed, eyes flashing red, whilst the driver jumped from his place and brandished a rapier. Rhaine needed no more excuse to put them all to eternal rest...with a wave of her hand, she Turned the undead beasts in a blast of white power, and they crumbled instantly to dust. She was slightly surprised at their weakness.

 

Satisfied, the Doomguide slid from the back of her horse and investigated the secret compartment on her own. She collected everything that was there, to look at in greater detail later. Stuffing the papers in her pack, she then flipped through Ravenna's journal. Upon finding the last entry, her expression grew grim.

 

"Miora is here and she knows where Ravenna has gone. Burn the carriage."

[GrueMaster]

Tak'we was becoming more and more aggravated as time continued to pass by. He kept glancing at the undead with hatred, releasing a low hiss every now and then and clicking angrily to himself. "Blightsss upon nature," he muttered to no one in particular, and forced himself to look away from the creatures. The thri'kreen scanned the stone ruins nearby instead. He noticed that, even though the stone village had collapsed due to some tragic event or to time and exposure to the elements, nature seemed to simply... avoid the place. What few bushes there were never grew near it, and Tak'we couldn't hear any animal calling to one another. Even the trees seemed to bend away from the ruins, as if trying to escape some malignant force. A dark shadow lies upon this place, Tak'we thought, his unease growing even further in the silence.

 

He was pondering what had happened to destroy what must have been a magnificent place when he heard commotion behind him from the cart. Tak'we turned towards the disturbance and saw large black birds flapping around Xallistine as the tentacled one shooed them away and then entered the carriage. He approached Ravenna's carriage and glanced at the ravens perched on top of it. Such large birds... His stomache growled as he realized that he hadn't eaten for a very long time: his flight from the slavers having prevented his plans of eating a decent meal. The thri'kreen stepped out of the way as Xallistine came back out of the black carriage and walked over to Rhaine, something in his hands. Tak'we inched slowly towards one of the bigger ravens, beady eyes staring right back at him. He stood very still, focused on his prey, then out flashed a clawed hand and snatched the bird, and before it could cry out in surprise, he had wrung its neck, the other ravens cawing at the predator's intrusion.

 

His mood somewhat lightened at the prospect of food, and he was in the process of deciding how to eat it when he heard the tentacled one's words. Curious and eager to leave the ruins (and attend to his newly acquired meal), Tak'we took a strip of leather and tied the plump bird onto a loop on his skirt and walked over to Rhaine. He saw Xallistine handing what looked like a small leather packet with leaves in it to her. What's so important about that thing? he wondered, never having seen a book before.

 

"What isss that, Rhaine?" the thri'kreen was asking, head tilted to one side, when the undead creatures suddenly burst into action. Before he could lash out at the unnatural horrors, the winged pointy-ear waved her hand and instantly destroyed them. Tak'we stared after her as she went into the black carriage, bewildered that anyone could do such a thing. Do the spirits give her such strength? When she came back out a few moments later, a grim look covered her face. "What'sss wrong?" He looked around at the ruins as she spoke of a "Miora" and a "Ravenna," wondering if they were the ones who had created the undead and looking forward to hunting them for their travesties against nature. The thri'kreen gave a satisfied hiss as Rhaine gave the order to burn the carriage, glad to be rid of it and the taint of undeath upon it and eager to pursue its owners. Let the hunt begin!

Edited January 7, 2013 by GrueMaster