The Shivering Woods

[Khiera Meneris]

@Eve:

Thaetum took large striding steps forward, when he heard a whizzing sound in the air and then a loud thump to the ground. Instinctively, Thaetum fell flat to the ground on his belly, and it was a good thing that he had done as such, because the arrow that had narrowly missed impaling Eve in her shoulder would have bored a hole in Thaetum's head.

As the arrow hurtled deep into the trunk of a Larkentir, Thaetum cautiously got back up on his feet again, and spun round to see Eve with a wounded and coarsely wrapped shoulder. "By Arvins! Cursed elves!" He shook his fist at the empty air, but of course, you couldn't hit or retort to those that you couldn't see.

Holding out an arm, Thaetum gingerly and grudgingly spoke to Eve, unsuccessfully masking the concern in his voice, "Come now, stay close to me."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Thaetum and Eve trudged further along the woods, and thankfully, the elves seemed to have held off trying to mutilate or murder them. They had walked on for quite a while, in silence, as Thaetum was not a particularly chatty person, and both kept their eyes and ears peeled in anticipation of sudden attacks.

Suddenly, Eve's keen hearing heard what sounded like the soft crying and sobbing of a child, immediately to her right beyond a cluster of Larkentirs. Thaetum seemed to have not heard or noticed though, and continued walking forward.

Hold me.
Soothe me.
Love me.
Save me from my RAGE.

[Khiera Meneris]

@Cacunai & Fluffy:

((OOC: Nice cute post Fluffy! ))

The male elf stared at the eloquent mouse that had perched itself on Cacunai's shoulders, his narrowed eyes belieing the incredulousness he felt.

Slowly, he placed the still chittering and puffed up Manymeals back on the ground, and approached Cacunai, bending down to look a statemanly Fuzzytail eye to eye. "A speaking rat! An intelligent one too, from the sound of its words!" He made a motion as if to reach out to scoop Fuzzytail up, but hesitated, and instead took two steps backwards, straightened himself up, and spoke again, this time to Cacunai, with a measured tone and a mischievious glint in his eyes, "I am Shartrelyend of the Tsváen’mol’khár. You must be a sorceress, with ... amazing speaking animals. Should i speak to you, or to your rats themselves?"

He gave a light-hearted chuckle as he swept another intrigued glance at the even more intrigued rats that stood like little furry mushrooms ... with the exception of one dancing around the feet of Shartrelyend in anger (Manymeals) and one perched lordly on Cacunai's shoulder. "Why would you have anything to do with a wretched human child of ..." He stared into the sky, voice dripping with disgust, " ... royalty. And a boy i have indeed seen, and still will see, if he had not been ... disposed of by my companions." A smile crossed his lips as he cocked his head slightly. It was hard to say whether the smile looked sinister, or teasing.  

Hold me.
Soothe me.
Love me.
Save me from my RAGE.

[Cacunai]

You killed the boy then, Shartrelyend? A pity. I do not harm the young, myself. In any case, you may speak to me or the mouse, it makes no difference. That's a mouse, by the way, as I'm sure you realize.

She gestured up to Fuzzytail, indicating he was the mouse she spoke of.

I search for the young human... not so young now, I would imagine... because her family offers a generous reward. Do you know anything about her whereabouts, Shartrelyend? Or is she dead as well?

OOC: SPS... oh the horror....

"Seek then speak, that is the way of the witchwoman...."

Edited by: Cacunai at: 2/16/04 4:56

[Fluffy Ramblers]

((Inspiration! I summon thee from the deepest... uh... deeps of my mind! Appear and help me write a decent post! Appear! Come on! Damn... ))

"Disp-p-posed?" - said Fuzzytail and his eyes sank. Yerun was a good boy, even though he seemed to like cats. Fuzzytail almost liked him.
"Like you have disposed of this man? But... but why? Are you going to eat him?" - asked the mouse sadly: "He didn't want to do any harm..."

-----
Squee! Squee!
The rat story

[Khiera Meneris]

@Cacunai & Fluffy:

((OOC: Hmmm ... me thinks that someone should write an entry for the main site regarding SPS ... ))

Shartrelyend threw his head back and laughed, his laughter reverberating throughout woods along with the rustling of the Larkentirs in an eerie, hollow way. "Dead? The boy? No, no." He smiled a dazzling smile at Cacunai, "We are ... distant kin, you and i, but not so distant ... i too, do not harm the young, what would be said of our kind if that was so? No, no, the boy, i saw, wandering blindly, in quite a distressed state, and i let him be ..." The corners of his lips curled slightly into a half-grin, "But i cannot speak for my companions. Their will to ... kill is not mine."

He walked over to a Larkentir and broke off the ends of a branch, red sap flowing from the broken joint. He stared at it leisurely, and then tossed it over his shoulder, turning once more to Cacunai, "Now, the royal human female, that is a different matter ... she is, shall i say, neither dead, nor alive." Winking at Fuzzytail, he presented the mouse with a broad grin, "And no, we believe that humans are not particularly ... a delicacy, if i may say ... but, rats are often on are mind every now and then, whenever we feel the pangs of hunger."

The surrounding rats chittered nervously as they heard of the possibility of being made into a meal. Guardians? Why would their Guardians want to ... eat them? Their confused and bewildered gazes now hopped between three rats ... err, two rats and a mouse -- SmoothFur, Manymeals and Fuzzytail. Fuzzytail had spoken up to the violet-eyed Big One, and he spoke in longed jumbled sentences, but he got the attention of the violet-eyed Big One. Manymeals and SmoothFur had been ignored. And Fuzzytail spoke the Big One's language! And now that they had realized that, he was actually a Mouse. Something began to click in their cheese-fantasy-filled heads: Mouse ... mouse ... mouse ... mousephet ... mousephet ... mouphet ... mouphet ...

SmoothFur, meanwhile, drooped down on all four, and looked forlornly at Manymeals.

Hold me.
Soothe me.
Love me.
Save me from my RAGE.

[Mina]

Mina was about to send the piece of bark the elf had called a 'yilthrem' to the two newcomers when Elric shouted, "No! Don't! They will kill us all after they have gotten it! Don't you see???"

He does have a point. The bark is important to them...perhaps I can use it to my advantage.  

"Not so fast.  He is right.  How do we know that you will not attempt to harm us after I have returned it?" she said to the elf, "Withdraw first, then I will return your yilthrem."

It was admittedly a rather risky move.  The elves might decide to try kill her first, then retrieve the yilthrem.  Still, they were well aware that she was a mage, and magi tend to have ways of blowing things up...

There is no emotion; there is peace.
There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.
There is no passion; there is serenity.
There is no death; there is the Force.

[Cacunai]

OOC: I wonder if they'd actually accept it if I did!

IC:

Good, then! I do not doubt your honor at least, Shartrelyend.

The news about the human princess made her raise a brow in partial worry, partial disappointment. If the princess was not alive, she could not possibly fetch the ransom. But if she was not dead, she could. Sheesh... had she been bitten by a vampire? Had Elath (C.'s goddess of death and water) taken her and these elves somehow fought the goddess off? Then they would be powerful indeed.... She was jerked back to reality by Shartrelyend joking (hopefully) about eating rats.

These rodents are under my protection. At least, six of them are. Fuzzytail, sir mouse, and... well, five of them.

Cacunai gestured vaguely out among the throng. She hadn't really been around the original group enough to recognize them on sight.

It is risking much to stand here, Shartrelyend. I wish to find both children of which I speak. Will you assist me?

"Seek then speak, that is the way of the witchwoman...."

[Khiera Meneris]

@Cacunai:

"It is risking much to stand here, Shartrelyend. I wish to find both children of which I speak. Will you assist me?"

Shartrelyend chuckled again, and ambled around in front of Cacunai, "Risking much? Who? You, or I?" He tugged absent-mindedly at the string of his bow, "Assistance ... assistance ... and why should i assist you, distant kin of mine?"  

Hold me.
Soothe me.
Love me.
Save me from my RAGE.

[Cacunai]

I risk my safety and that of the boy. If you question lending aid to one of your people, distant as may be, then you will be little help to me, Shartrelyend.

She turned away from Shartrelyend, taking a gamble. Generally a man, well, anyone really, would stop her and say he didn't mean it like that or something similar. However he may just shrug and walk away. She did hope he wouldn't do that, but if he did not plan to help them, she did not need to bother with him.

"Seek then speak, that is the way of the witchwoman...."

[Fluffy Ramblers]

((OOC: @Nai, well there is a description of the Santharian Addiction Syndrome, so go on  ))

Fuzzytail listened to the words of the elf and tried not to think about the rat delicacy part. Something sounded strange: the elf told him that he and his kind wouldn't hurt the young. But then he mentioned his companions who would. The mouse added one thing to another and then concluded: "Your companions, Shartratare... Shartrulala... Sharuntale... What you said your name was? Ahem... well... your companions, who or what are they actually?"

Manymeals meanwhile made a try to calm down and comfort SmoothFur who surely felt even worse than he did. "Take it easy," - he said: "Relax. We will make it. Noone's going to be eaten, I promise."

"Right," - he thought: "Nothing easier as that... "

-----
Squee! Squee!
The rat story

[Khiera Meneris]

@Cacunai & Fluffy:

((OOC: I'll just assume that Fuzzytail scrambled down from Cacunai's shoulder when she turned and walked off ...))

"I risk my safety and that of the boy. If you question lending aid to one of your people, distant as may be, then you will be little help to me, Shartrelyend."

Shartrelyen curled the edges of his lips into a broad grin as Cacunai turned to walk off. He liked her. She was ... spirited. Calm, yet, spirited. He liked that. He turned around to where Fuzzytail was now on the ground.

"Your companions, Shartratare... Shartrulala... Sharuntale... What you said your name was? Ahem... well... your companions, who or what are they actually?"

Shartrelyend half-chuckled, half-snickered as he scooped up Fuzzytail and placed the mouse into a breast pocket of his vest. "Well now, speaking one, my companions are of course of my kin ... certainly not rats. Now then, we are off to ... aid your upset Mistress." He chuckled again and called out to Cacunai in a light-hearted tone, "Well now, distant kin, you desire to seek out the human boy, or the human female first?"

Meanwhile, a disspirited SmoothFur watched silently as Fuzzytail was being swept up into Shartrelyend's vest, hardly even hearing Manymeal's attempt at soothing and comforting her. "Are we to follow?"  

Hold me.
Soothe me.
Love me.
Save me from my RAGE.

[Cacunai]

OOC: Really? Where is the SAS entry? (XD) ~+~ Fwee! I ish liked! -brandishes her torch- Stay back, boy. I'm warning you!

IC:

Cacunai took a few more leisurely steps, then stopped and turned on her heel. She stood for a moment, measuring up the elf who stood grinning in an odd way. After a moment, her face split into a satisfied smile.

The boy. If the princess has survived in here for seven years, she can wait a few more hours.

"Seek then speak, that is the way of the witchwoman...."

Edited by: Cacunai at: 2/18/04 4:52

[Kiushapo]

Kiushapo frowned at Mina and Elric, making sure they could see as he gestured with his eyes towards the blade held at his throat.

He then realized he didn't really know them that well and his frown deepened. Mentally shrugging his shoulders, he began to think over his options. He'd always felt safer in his own hands anyway. Speaking loud enough for everyone to hear, he spread his arms peacefully, putting on a charming smile. Looking at the elves, he felt an odd kinship with them, his recent years spent mostly in the company of humans.

"I am seeing no harm in giving her the bark. It is being hers after all. I am sure we can be trusting them to be less hostile once they are seeing we are being no threat to them."

Directing his voice to the woman behind him, he continued speaking, switching to styrash in the hopes it would bolster his position.

"We are seeking the princess of the lands outside your forest. She has been missing for a number of years and I'm afraid you have a bit of a reputation among the locals."

Chuckling softly, he let his hands fall to his sides, waiting to see if his efforts had helped any.

Simple answers to life's questioning. T'would be a greater magic that I have ever been seeing.
Kiushapo's Story

[Fluffy Ramblers]

((OOC: On the main site, under "Treasures and Oddities". ))

"Uh, yes, I guess so..." - answered Manymeals to SmoothFur: "This One didn't seem to be too hungry... And, well, he is the Guardian, isn't he?"
"And he has Fuzzytail. And he was going to bring us to the boy.

"Now, come on," - he said with a warm voice: "I'm sorry I've shouted at you."
Manymeals felt that SmoothFur was losing her beliefs. A sad thing, but on the other hand, he thought, it was for her better good.

-----
Squee! Squee!
The rat story

[Khiera Meneris]

@Mina & Kiushapo:

The female elf demanding the Yilthrem was apparently enraged by Mina's words, because Kiushapo could hear her snarl from behind him. "You dare haggle with me on your life, human?!"

"I am seeing no harm in giving her the bark. It is being hers after all. I am sure we can be trusting them to be less hostile once they are seeing we are being no threat to them."
Elric groaned inwardly at Kiushapo's words. How could he have thought to bring an elf along?? Now they were all going to die. Hoping for a measure of last resort, Elric, pretendly to moan in pain from a inflicted wound, and knelt down, a palm grasping on the ground, trying to locate a pebble, or a stone, perhaps.

The female elf was about to set her archers upon them in rage, when Kiushapo spoke to her. "We are seeking the princess of the lands outside your forest. She has been missing for a number of years and I'm afraid you have a bit of a reputation among the locals." She hissed back, in heavily accented Styrash, "I care not for wretched humans! I do not wish to harm you, distant kin, but --"

She never finished her sentence as Kiushapo heard a sharp thud by his jaw, followed by a shriek of surprise and pain from her. Kiushapo's words had bought them time, and Elric had, with amazing accuracy, hurled a stone at the female elf's hand that clutched the blade. What followed immediately was a simultaneous blur of confusion and rage, and one mistake could cause Kiushapo, Mina, Elric and Caradol their life --

An ornate and wickedly sharp dagger fell to Kiushapo's feet.

Elric grabbed his sword and rushed towards two startled archers.

Caradol could be heard muttering soft Styrash words under his breath.

The poised archers hesistated for that one, fleeting moment, unsure of what to make of their leader's sudden cry: providing a window of opportunity for their targets to react instantly to do whatever they could to avoid certain death.

Hold me.
Soothe me.
Love me.
Save me from my RAGE.

Advanced search

[Members]

Members Total Members: 2849 Latest: abigailjordan Stats Total Posts: 214569 Total Topics: 8052 Online Today: 41 Online Ever: 216 (November 30, 2006, 09:08:03 AM) Users Online Users: 0 Guests: 32 Total: 32

[Artimidor]

	Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2005, Simple Machines TinyPortal v0.9.8 © Bloc
Theme based on Cerberus with Risen adjustments by Bloc and Krelia Modified By Artimidor for The Santharian Dream