Chapter 3c: Band of brothers, men turned runners

[Thraz the Mighty]

Thraz stopped laughing as he realized that another human had stepped from among the trees. They seemed to be falling from the sky today. He was instantly disgusted by the man's grotesque wink. Why would anyone be proud of such an injury? He wondered as he spoke to the new arrival.

"Do that again and I'll make sure you lose the other eye! Anyway, what brings you to this cursed forest?"

Thraz walked over to his pony, Mortil, and began to stoke the animal's neck. The pony seemed to be the only other sensible creature in these woods today.  

[Thaedras]

Thaedras, more than willing to defend himself, was amused by the dwarf's threat.

The pleasure of your company, and that of your grumpy friend over there brings me to this forest. I am Thaedras Ju'Rayle. I was looking for something interesting to do and I found you two, and thus I am here.

The wind in my Hair, The spray of the ocean in my face.
I love Life at sea.

- Thaedras

[Morcaanan]

"I am not the dwarf's friend" declared Morcaanan defensively. The nerve, implying he was that nutty dwarf's friend...
He stood up - none too quickly, given his foot - and began making motions to be on his way.

"If Thraz the Mighty wishes to pleasure you with his company, I have nothing against it. As for me, unless you have good reason for me to stay, I think I'll be on my way."
'Thraz the Mighty indeed' he thought. 'Last thing that dwarf needs is an ego bigger than he is - though even then, it would not be that large of an ego, would it?'

[Thraz the Mighty]

Thraz was shocked to hear the human proclaim that he was not his friend. Had they not just laughed together as friends would? Everyone wanted to be friends with Thraz, he was just that fun to be around.

"Are we not friends? I know that we have not shared a mug of ale as all friends should, but where would we find one in this forsaken forest?" Thraz paused as he realized that the tone in which the man spoke his name had been an insult. "Yes, I am Thraz the Mighty, and even a friend could lose his life if he did not show me the proper respect!"

Thraz mounted onto his pony and prepared to ride south. He had no desire to stay among these insane humans and that giant of an elf. His father had always told him that the tall folk were never sensible due to having their heads in the clouds. A mug of ale would be just the thing to calm himself after this unpleasant encounter.

[Faulse Nightshadow]

Calmly Faulse stepped into the circle of seeming adventurers that had now gathered within the woods. Outstretching his hands he seemed to silently call for a hush so that he might address the lot of them.

"Now now, dear friends, there is no reason for insults and injury here today. Our dwarven friend Thraz here has made a good point already, that we have already made motions towards fellowship. Are we really so different in our cultures and habits that we cannot for a moment place our pride and envies aside to enjoy the company of others in such a beautiful and wonderous place?"

Resting his hands at his side he shot a pointed glance towards them all individually, awaiting a response.  

[Bahran the big]

She glanced around the tree at the four men, arguing amongst themselves. Typical dwarves and humans, she thought to herself. Of course, it was the tall elf man who was trying to maintain peace; which made her feel some pride, even if he wasn't from her tribe.

The little girl was 19, young by elvish standards, yet to the human males of the group she would undeniably look about half of that. She had large, dinner-plate eyes, long hair and a cute button nose. She was a very sweet little girl.

After the large elf with the Mohawk finished talking she decided it was time to act. She stepped out from behind the tree and began to walk towards the men. She stopped about three peds away and looked up at them – well, not the dwarf. Her beautiful eyes gleamed in the morning sun. She opened her mouth to speak – PHWIFF! A large Mithral Wolf came out of nowhere, and in a flash he had the girl. He stopped for a split second, the screaming girl in his mouth, did something that could easily have been construed as winking at the men, and took off like a flash. The wolves were known for their speed. As the wolf went deeper into the woods, the girls screams began to fade.

_____________

Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares?

"It’s better to die whimpering like a little girl than trying to be a hero."
-Anonymous

Edited by: Bahran the big at: 8/4/05 3:01

[Morcaanan]

Jeharaid had just been on the verge of telling the elf what he thought of all this "fellowship" business, when the girl, and then the wolf, appeared and went off together, though not necessarily by one another's consent.

In a flash he was running after the disappearing wolf, painful foot and all. "Come on you slow-pokes!" he shouted, "don't just stand there, after them!!" not bothering to see if there were 'just standing there' or not.

[Thraz the Mighty]

Thraz paused as he began to ride south. An elf maiden had appeared among the trees. His curiosity was intrigued and he halted his southern flight to hear her speak, but her words were cut short when an immense wolf burst from among the trees and snatched up the elf in his powerful jaws. The hilarious human was already chasing the pair, and Thraz would not be left behind.

"Hai, a challenge! Run Mortil! We'll catch this quarry ere the day ends."

Thraz raced after the fleeing pair on his black pony, Mortil. He soon overtook the wounded human as the nimble pony dodged among the trees.

[Thaedras]

The young girl was cute, that is until the wwolf snatrched her up and ran off.

Deeming it his personal mission to save any and all "damsels in distress" near him at any given time, Thaedras immediately bounds into action, and chases after the wolf.

The wind in my Hair, The spray of the ocean in my face.
I love Life at sea.

- Thaedras

[Bahran the big]

The wolf gracefully weaved in and out of the trees in its escape from the men. The beast purposefully slowed itself down, so that the men could keep up with it. He continued his agile descent into the deeper regions of the forest for nearly 10 minutes. It seemed that the elf and the man with the limp had fallen back awhile ago, leaving just the dwarf with the pirate a little ways behind him.

Finally, the wolf reached its destination and stopped abruptly. There was a small clearing where the animal stopped, not too big, but just right. It turned around to look at the men, who were almost out of sight now, but just barely. He carefully set the little elf down and she ran away into the woods.

As the dwarf and the man reached the clearing the wolf took off, vanishing into the woods. But before the men could react, a booming voice sounded from what seemed like all around them, “Do not follow it. Stay right where you are.”

On the final word of the sentence it seemed like someone opened the elven flood-gate, as roughly 30 male elves popped out of the wood-works, bows drawn and pointed at the men.

“Move one step and you’ll be so full of arrows you’ll be… well… you’ll be very full of arrows,” the voice said very matter-of-factly. Suddenly, out of the trees, two darts came flying out at the men. One struck the dwarf in the ankle and the other hit the pirate in the arm. “Those darts are coated in a slow acting poison. If you value your lives you will go to Chrondra, that’s where you will find the antidote. Leave, NOW!”

Edited by: Bahran the big at: 10/4/05 2:43

[Thraz the Mighty]

Thraz leaned forward in his saddle as he pursued the beast. The mighty thews of his legs tightly clamped against the sides of Mortil as the mare weaved among the trees. The pony remained only a few peds behind the wolf, unable to close the distance. His experience with wolves was limited, and Thraz was not aware that the wolf could easily outrun both Mortil and the one-eyed man that ran slightly behind the mare.

His armored hands tightened on the reins and pulled the mare to a halt as the wolf dropped his prey within a clearing. As a dwarf, his honor was greater than that of a man, and he urged the pony forward into the clearing, intending to separate the elven maiden from the feral wolf. His brown eyes widened in shock as the wolf gently set the styras onto the forest floor before both wolf and girl disappeared into the forest. His expression became one of excitement as thirty elves challenged him and the human from the safety of their trees. He raised his fist and shook it angrily at the elves as he dared them to confront him on the forest floor.

"An elf’s tongue will talk the Timelight round! Kack! The cursed elves lack the courage to face me on the ground and taste true Dwarven steel!"

One armored hand closed over the shaft of his fang-axe as something whistled through the air and struck him in the ankle, piercing the soft leather of his boot. Being a sturdy dwarf, he did not cry out at the sight of a dart blooming from his ankle, though he did clench his teeth as the pain radiated from his ankle. His thoughts immediately fixated upon a desire for revenge, but he felt a lethargy overtaking him before he could even slide off the black mare. His fingers relaxed and left the shaft of his axe as they hung at his side, and he leaned forward as he felt the effects of the toxin. His head fell forward and came to rest upon the neck of Mortil as his arms hung on either side of the mare. She stepped nervously to one side, aware that her rider was no longer holding her reins. The eyes of the mighty dwarf finally closed as he began to dream about the vengeance that he would inflict upon the cowardly elves.

[Thaedras]

Thaedras runs into the clearing and is suddenly surrounded by a number none to happy looking elves. Tehir apparent leader threatened Thaedras with possibly the least threatening phrase ever before both the dwarf and Thaedras, now the only two men around, were hit with darts.

Those darts are coated in a slow acting poison. If you value your lives you will go to Chrondra, that’s where you will find the antidote. Leave, NOW.

Before Thaedras could react to this though, he started to feel woozy. His vision blurred, and as he lost consciousness he saw Lia start to fly away, and was comforted somewhat.

The wind in my Hair, The spray of the ocean in my face.
I love Life at sea.

- Thaedras

[Bahran the big]

The elves made quick work of getting the two invaders out of their forest. They dropped the two right at the outskirts of the forest; the side closest to Chrondra. The dwarf and the man were both laid on their backs, their heads pointed towards the forest.

Above them, stuck into a tree, was an arrow. On the arrow there was a note. The note was very informative.

It read as follows:

THAT WAY.

Underneath the words there was an arrow pointing away from the forest. It could be assumed that the arrow pointed in the direction of the antidote. In the direction of Chrondra.

_____________

"Man, being reasonable, must get drunk; The best of life is but intoxication."
- Lord Byron

[Thraz the Mighty]

Thraz awoke in a mood that was rare for the merry dwarf. His rage at the injustice of being attacked from afar by cowardly elves consumed his stone heart, and he began to curse before his eyes were completely open.

"KACK! Feffin elves! I curse the very elves that ever bore such cowards within this wicked forest! Any true warriors would not hide behind foul trees!"

He stopped speaking as he sat up, groaning at having to lift a pygge of armor with only his torso. His gaze was obstructed for a moment as his helm slid over his eyes, and he lifted it with one armored hand as he noticed the man lying nearby. His face was never handsome to begin with and the scowl that now twisted his features did not help his image.

"You're still here? Feffin human! I actually liked the other man. It is rare when one of the tall folk earns the friendship of a dwarf. If I had any luck, then those foul elves would have put out your other eye!"

He stood as he braced himself against the ground with one hand, and the other began to slowly stroke the head of his axe as if he were dreaming of severing a few heads. As soon as he stood at his full height, his helm brushed against an arrow sticking out of the tree he had been lying near. He read the note attached to it before he roughly grabbed it with one hand, the other hand was still stroking his axe, and broke the arrow. His anger seemed to fade somewhat as he was finally able to physically express it. Remembering the dart that remained in his ankle, he knelt down and quickly yanked it out without any sign of pain showing on his homely face. His hand closed over another arrow that he saw lying nearby, and he didn't notice that it was pointing in a particular direction. Thraz broke it without a second thought and began to look around as he searched for Mortil.

He noticed her grazing peacefully nearby, and he walked over to her before grabbing her reins with one hand as he mounted onto her back. The elves claimed to have poisoned him, but he knew that dwarves were too sturdy to be harmed by mere poison. He rode off as his armor shone in the light of the morning sun, riding in the direction of the Mithral Mountains as he knew that his kindred, the Mitharim dwarves, lived within that range.  

Edited by: Thraz the Mighty at: 10/23/05 20:11

[Thaedras]

Thaedras awoke in a less than thrilled mood. Taking the dart out of his arm, Thaedras takes a quick look around his surroundings. The first thing he notices is the bright red bird in the tree nearest to him. Thaedras was glad Lia was unharmed. The next thing Thaedras noticed was the very loud dwarf, cursing about something or another. Thaedras then noticed the Dwarf was cursing at and about HIM. Dwarves were notoriously rude in Thaedras' eye, so this did not surprise him.

Thaedras gets to his feet, dusts himself off, and calls Lia to his shoulder. Taking a few steps towards the dwarf, Thaedras notices several splintered arrows, but promptly ignores them. He calls to the Dwarf:

What do you think we should do about this poison?

The wind in my Hair, The spray of the ocean in my face.
I love Life at sea.

- Thaedras

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