Tales of Faerun

[josh900]

Leif laughed as he watched the tussle unfold, as Rameses fell to We'tak's venom, an age old prank came to mind when We'tak asked what to do with the Gensai. "Hey boss," he said, putting on an accent. "Lets shave him." He said with a mischievous glint as he quickly flipped a knife out from his belt.

 

As Azuris watched even he couldn't help but smirk at the young Thri'kreen's antics. "Could be worse, you could have been turned pink like your father did." He said, remembering the horror that was the elder Thri'kreen's cooking.

[AurianaValoria1]

As Maydiira watched the spectacle unfold between Rameses and We'tak, the drow's mouth slowly dropped open, her silver eyes wide. Then, she snapped her fingers to release the faerie fire enchantment, quietly muttering, "Well...I didn't quite mean for that to go the way it did..."

 

The winged drow's words were nearly drowned completely out by the nonstop giggles that had overtaken Abby. The little half-dragon was laughing so hard that tears were streaming from her eyes, and when she couldn't make any more noise, she still laughed, just silently.

 

Rhaine, however, torn between wanting to scold We'tak, wanting to reassure Maydiira, and simply baffled by the sudden turn of events from casual conversation to outright brawl, slowly stood and made her way over to Kaliste, beginning to care for the horse to both occupy her mind and do something productive at the same time.

[Macman253]

Kellak watched as the Thri-kreen was engulfed in flames. He went silent, removing a rune carved whetstone from his pack and running it over the edge of Haelga's blade. He crawled into himself spiritually, the branding he received at the hands of the darkies still fresh in his mind, the wound burning from the memory. If it was not faerie fire then it had to be something else. He paused from his work to stroke his beard and shrugged. He admitted to himself that he was not fluent in the ways of magic, while he boasted considerable power with Earth magic he realized he knew relatively little about magic in general. Ragnorrakh was not the most attentive instructor, he taught Kellak how to mend his wounds with mud and how to meld into the Earth itself and use it's strength to enhance his own but he never instructed him further then Earth magic.

 

The dwarf slipped out of his solemness and looked at Maydiira and stood, he approached the Drow and offered his hand.

 

"I wish te' apologize fer' what I said." Admitted the dwarf, his meaty hand extended and open. "T'was dishonorable... I 'ave te' remind me'self that not all darkies are alike." He said in a tone that sounded like rocks rubbing together but it was meant honestly. Kellak explored his feelings and the events over the last few days, he felt embarrassed about his actions and he felt her display had humbled him.

[Lisnpuppy]

Seeing his fellow party members seemingly so reluctant to eat yet another meal of hard, tough, and nearly tasteless rations, Argyros looked sideways at Conall and indicated his bow, "Say...fancy an evening hunt? Perhaps we can bring in something a bit more satisfying than trail food, yes?" At this, the werewolf paladin raised his brows and then nodded, "Aye, a good idea, my friend. Rhaine, with Selune's blessing, we'll be back with a better meal before nightfall." He inclined his head to the Doomguide, to which she gave an answering silent nod of approval. With that, the two hunters made towards the thicker wooded grasslands to the east, past the small pond that Rhaine had pointed out earlier.....

 

 

 

Sin sat in a relatively small-sized branch up in one of the trees close to the pond. Though the branch was low enough to get up and down easily, it was well hidden by branches and leaves. As Sin sat she stared at the map written in some scrawl she could not make out. How in the name of all the gods was she supposed to get to Furthinghome when she couldn't make heads or tales of this filched map? It must be written by Orcs, Sin thought, brow furrowed as she turned the map this way and that. Though she never knew they made maps. She thought they just smelled their way everywhere, like dogs.

 

"Speaking of smell, " the Drow rogue said quietly to herself while sniffing an armpit, "I should probably make use of that pond..." Sin looked over at the shining water and was startled to note two figures coming toward the pond through a break in the treeline. She had been so absorbed in the map she had not noticed their arrival. Leaning even further into the tree, knowing her dark leather armor and green shirt would help her blend even more, Sin regulated her breathing to slow and shallow. The Drow's once white hair now was dark rusty red, blending well in trees and darkness. She narrowed her shining green eyes to mere slits, having no problem still seeing the two. Sin observed the two figures and it seemed that they were looking to hunt game and not other prey, though that could change if they thought her an enemy. Sin tilted her head slowly, these two were unusual though she could not perceive how. A Moon Elf, a rare sight, but not unknown and with it an overly large and smelly human. Well, she couldn't throw smelly stones there now could she.

 

As the two came closer to her tree, the Drow impulsively decided what to do. Holding onto her map, she turned quickly on the branch, legs holding on, she flipped quickly upside-down on the branch, red hair falling down and brushing the dirt and leaves. Waving the map wildly at first, Sin began to talk rapidly and now with both hands and map flapping wildly about as she tried to get out as much as she could, before they shot her with a bow or something equally unappealing.

 

"So..I took this map from some really smelly human and I was trying to get to Furthinghome, without going on the roads. I got a bit turned around here in the woods and I think this map was drawn by Orcs or something, I don't suppose either of you could read this or maybe just tell me which way to go..or maybe you are going there are I can maybe, just follow along or something..I don't know if that would be too much to ask..oh and by the way my name is Sin..well it isn't really Sin that is my nickname, that is short for my full name but I really like it better...."

 

The Drow took in a deep breath...

[FreemasonGamer]

Much to the genasi's disappointment, We'tak was long gone and out of reach before his venom wore off. Groaning, Rameses sat upright and rolled his stiff muscles, quite aware of the charcoal drawings etched across his forehead. "Ugh... I have half the mind to smoke you out of that tree!" He exclaimed, waving his fist in the air halfheartedly, although his flailing movements might have still been hindered by the residual rigidity and soreness caused from the thri-kreen's venom. Close by, Eirene tried to conceal her amused smile and attempted to muffled her slight giggling; for all it was worth, We'tak had made a very amusing spectacle of the company's fire genasi.

 

"There there, no need to be like that." The Mulhorandi teased Rameses in a tone that was similar to that of chastising sibling's, and she quickly approached him and offered her hand. After eyeing the young ranger from head to toe, Rameses reluctantly accepted her help as he rose to his feet. Still quite sore with his sense of balance more than a little hindered, Rameses smudged the drawings on his face using his sleeve in a failed attempt to remove the charcoal entirely. "This means war, you little mischief maker," He said to the thri-kreen with a faint grin, "Mark my words."

[GrueMaster]

*Wee-sss-sss-sss...* We'tak laughed as Rameses recovered and promised retribution. However, when the softskin Azuris made the comment that his father, that great and mighty warrior of his pack, had been pink in color, the thri-kreen froze in shock, unable to comprehend what he'd just heard.

 

"Wha-?" *NRAAAAK'TCK!* He shrieked as he lost his balance and fell, landing hard on the ground. This had both fortunate and unfortunate consequences for We'tak. Fortunately, the fall had merely winded him, and nothing was broken. Unfortunately (for the insectoid, at least), he had landed directly in front of his now-sworn (and highly aggravated) opponent. "Oh spirits..."

 

Getting up slowly, We'tak put his arms up in front of him in appeasement. "Oh, Rameses" *Tck* "sorry about that..."*Tcktck* "I think the others may need help in the hunt, see you later!" He shouted this last bit as he made a tactical retreat, fleeing quickly before the eventual reprisal he would surely receive could take place.

 

Leaping and running in the direction he had seen Conall and Argyros go, the thri-kreen followed after his wayward clutchmates. After a short while, he slowed down, not wanting to disturb their hunt if possible, and came across a pond, where he saw his friends... and a strange female speaking with them. Who is that? Seeing that the female was trying to speak with his clutch and seemed harmless, We'tak moved up until he was close and began his verbal bombardment. "A dark pointy-ear?" He said aloud as he sprang up with his usual enthusiasm.

 

"Greeeetingss! I am We'tak! Hi, Conall, Argyros." The thri-kreen put in haphazardly, greeting his clutchmates between breaths. "Does the hunt go well? I thought I might be helpful, so I went after you. So, Sin, yess?" He asked, switching straight back to the dark pointy-ear without pause, having overheard part of her conversation. "Some softskins do smell a little, do they not? Especially during mating season, which apparently can happen anytime. Funny, yes?" His antennae twitched slightly in the female's direction. "You have not cleaned your travel scent for a few nights, have you? Also, I noticed that you have, what do you call it, a 'map?'" We'tak said, switching topics again. "Does it tell you where things are? That is strange. Cannot softskins remember where paths go like thri-kreen? Anyway, it is amazing that you can put memories of places on paper, do you not agree? Oh..." *Chee* He looked at Conall. "Will Dark Pointy-ear Female join uss in our journey?"

Edited December 9, 2015 by GrueMaster

[AurianaValoria1]

Maydiira squinted at Kellak for a breath or two, then took his hand briefly, "I...understand. Thank you. I..." she trailed, as if she wanted to add something else, but then shook her head, "Nevermind. It is not important." This solemn atmosphere had dragged Abby out of her giggle-fit, and she rocked back upwards to sit and observe the remaining party silently, holding her knees to her chest as she did so.

 

Meanwhile, Conall had been following Argyros rather closely, letting the dragon take the lead for a while. He had been so absorbed in thoughts of the hunt and other musings that he had not noticed the drow until she had already made her bizarre entrance. Seeing the flash of red and the waving map made him impulsively ready his crossbow, and a slight glance to his left revealed that Argyros had also knocked a silver arrow in that brief time. Conall narrowed his eyes at the figure, taking her in quickly in the dim evening light, and he was about to say something when We'tak appeared beside them, his usual barrage of questioning interrupting Conall's focus...

 

"We'tak!" the werewolf finally snapped, blue eyes glaring, "Not all strangers are friendly and not all drow are Maydiira...would you please exercise some caution before you kill us all with your curiosity!"

 

With crossbow and longbow still trained on this drow called Sin, Argyros took up the lead, silver eyes studying the stranger who hung upside down as she spoke to them before he finally replied in a rumbling tone, "You are lost, then? I suppose it is mere coincidence that you are the second drow to approach us in less than a tenday?" The dragon-in-elf form noticed that Sin seemed to have a great grasp of Common...

[Lisnpuppy]

Arms spread wide, Sin looked between the Moon Elf...the Human and the....bug-thing. Seeing the weapons out and ready but not pointed at her seemed a hopeful sign, at least she was less concerned about those than the chattering, thing that came along.

 

Thoughts running quickly, the Drow pointed at this We'tak thing. "You.. hush" Sin said hair catching more leaves as she swung on the branch in righteous indignation, "I don't smell that bad and I was planning to go bathe in the pond before all of them came along."

 

Sin once again gestured wildly, then suddenly froze. Each waving arm, swinging strand of hair, the map still clasped tightly in her hand...it all stopped. Sin turned impossibly large, glowing green eyes toward the Moon Elf as those words worked their way through to the important parts of Sin's brain. The part that kept her alive. She put her hands up on the branch and flipped legs down to the ground, then turned around in a blurred instant. Crouching, and seeming to try to duck behind the tree while still being close enough to the group to be heard, the Drow hissed to the Moon Elf in what amounted to a stage whisper with words flowing faster with each one.

 

" Lolth's webbed undies!!! What Drow !?! Where!! Are they following you? Of course they are, that is what they do! I have to get out of here! They can't catch me. Not now! Not...not now." The last words cracked and broke as they spilled heavy from Sin's mouth. Standing and stepping out from the tree again, Sin looked at all the new and unusual faces. Holding the offending map out once more, Sin stood. Light wind whirled leaves and small twigs that peppered the long, long red hair. Without the frenzy or curiosity that filled the unusual Drow just a few moments before, it seemed like the entire woods had gone silent and had held its breath.

 

Map still held out, Sin shook it just slightly as a single, glistening tear fell slowly down her cheek. "Ple...please...." The young Drow choked out, "I'm not like them. We were not like them. Please just tell me how to get to Furthinghome and I will go away right now."

[GrueMaster]

Conall's words thoroughly chastised the young thri-kreen, antennae drooping sadly not unlike a dog yelled at by its owner. "Spirits pardon, Conall..." he apologized timidly, his enthusiasm deflating all at once, replaced by depression. He is right, too... even though now it is too late for a trap, I could hurt the clutch. We'tak was fully confident he could evade any such trap, but his clutchmates... One unwise hatchling, One clutch's failing. The teaching of a young thri-kreen insisting on hunting before they were ready and ruining the hunt, ending with a clutchmate's death and his own banishment echoed soundly within his mind. Even Pekwe, who would normally be quick to scold him, was quiet, detecting the sadness now emanating from We'tak.

 

However, his antennae twitched again at the dark pointy-ear female's direction as she fell silent and then began to hide and cry. Detecting the fear that only harried prey would possess, We'tak made up his mind. "Conall, Argyros," he spoke, an unusual seriousness in his tone that brokered no argument. "If we are quarry to a hunter, the time for the trap has passed; Wary prey is dangerous prey. The dark pointy-ear reeks of fear, so I trust her. Softskins may mask their languages all they want, but their scent will always give them away." He looked around, pacing quickly yet quietly, eyes studying the surrounding ground and his antennae twitching this way and that. "And I only find our own tracks and hers... We should let her sstay with us..."

 

He stared at Conall. "Thri-kreen are hunters of the land, and we may be masters of the hunt, but we must hunt it with respect, and not only that..." The thri-kreen glanced at Sin. "We are its guardians, and that which falls under Mother Moon's light our duty to protect, regardless of what clutch they belong to, if they choose that light. You know this one is right, clutch-brother." We'tak spoke with both solemnity and passion, challenging the softskin Conall to disagree with him. Granted, thri-kreen really just protect the land from defilers of the land, but it should not matter in this case, and Conall does not need to know that. "I will watch over her, and I even swear by Mother Moon to be responsible if our clutch comes to harm from her." He pressed, refusing to back down this time.

[Macman253]

Kellak nodded, he noticed hesitation in her words but he accepted it. The dwarf turned away from her and sat down on a flat rock next to the fire. He removed his pipe from his pocket and dashed it's contents out in the palm of his hand. He filled it with fresh pipeweed and lit it with a burning stick from the fire. He puffed to stoke the flames in the pipe, a sweet smelling smoke drifted out from his pipe.

 

The dwarf leaned towards the fire as he idly puffed on his pipe and looked into the flames. He felt a large head lay in his lap, he looked down to see large brown eyes staring up at him. Terra had her head in his lap and looked at him oddly. He sighed and scratched behind her short ears, her eyes closed and a small smile appeared on her face as she enjoyed the simple gesture of affection.