Rashemen - RP Thread

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"So, when do we leave?"

 

Gesed asked Nakia, "What temple are you talking about? I think I might be safe here, but if a temple would be safer, then of course that would be better."

Sepp said, "I want to kill those snake people as much as Del, but Nakia and Jex could be right that finding the Earth's Heart would weaken them before we attack. Plus, I just left Ma and Pa and Drell laying on the floor of our cave. I'd like to get back home and properly return them to the earth. Anyway, I'd say our home valley is the best place to start looking for it. Where else could Ma have hidden it?"

 

"Right, what are waiting for then?"

 

"Well, maybe we could wait til dawn. I haven't really slept for awhile. Let's sleep a little, have a big breakfast, then go, okay?" Sepp asked Atten.

 

Delphinae scowled. "Very well. I will accompany you all on your little quest to find this Earth's Heart, but after that I must resume my mission to demolish the Fellowship of the Serpent."

 

"Gesed, there is a local temple here. I'll go see if we can make arrangements to have you stay there.
Del, I think we be fighting these things as we go along."

Nakia gets up and stretches. As she starts for the door she turns to Jex, "Oh Jex, where any of those things I found worth while?"

 

"I agree with Sepp, we should go back to his families home. It seems like as good as any other place to start. But it's an area that we know that Heart had been." Jex said as he turned away from the window.

Pulling a small coin purse out of his cloak he nodded and pured a pile of gold coins into his hand. "I sold whatever rings and amulets we couldn't use and you can add the gold to stuff we already had. Unless there are any objections. And I found this ring." Walking to Gesed he wrapped his hand around the smaller hand of the halfling "It's a Ring of Regeneration, I'm not positive, but I think it might help you regrow some feet and heal your wounds."

 

"Really?" Gesed said in an awed voice. He took the ring and put it on. "Oooh! That itches!" He unwrapped the bandages from his foot. The frayed skin had scarred over. A quarter hour later, it was still itching, and the stubs of his legs had grown a tiny bit, almost imperceptibly. "Thank you, Jex! I think it's working. Ma alway said, 'If it's itching, then it's healing.' At this rate, I'll have my feet back in a month or two, if I don't go crazy from the itching before that."

The small group took turns washing up, getting some rest, and standing guard. In the morning they had a big pot of groats and sausages and fresh goat milk brought up for a hearty breakfast. They got Gesed settled in at the temple, picked up any last supplies they needed, and set out back up the creekbed. As Sepp looked over his shoulder, he saw not only Jex and Nakia, but also Atten, Maron, and Del. He felt bigger too. Gesed was safe, and he knew what he was going to do. Find the Earth's Heart, return it to the earth, then exterminate the Fellowship of the Serpent.

The creekbed brought them somewhat north of the village of Iceborn. Sepp lead the group east over two low ridges, and they came to the Iceborn River. They started following it to the north-east. Maron was scouting from the air and reported no dangers anywhere in sight. Sepp dropped back next to Atten.

"Atten, could I ask you something?" Atten nodded. "I was wondering if you could explain to me how you made those rats and dogs bigger. That was really great. I'll give you something in return too. I wouldn't expect to get something for nothing. I'll even start."

"I've noticed that you have a really good connection with the living elements, especially plants and animals, but you don't seem so connected to the primary elements of earth, air, fire, and water. It's almost as if you don't realize they're alive."

"Of course, I don't mean alive exactly like you or me, or animals or plants, that eat and drink and bleed and die and reproduce. But deep inside them, they have a tiny heart, that beats, and makes them what they are. You just have to know how to communicate with them."

"When you and I talk, we use words, of course. When you talk to an animal, that sees and hears and has a language of its own, its a different form of talking, right? And when you communicate with plants, it's another step in that difference, because plants don't have ears and eyes and mouths, well, most of them don't anyway. It's another step or two of difference when you communicate with earth, air, fire and water. They don't have eyes or ears or mouths, and they don't even reproduce, but like I said, they do have a heart."

Sepp reached down and picked up a handful of dirt. "Let's start with earth, because I know it the best, and because it actually has a lot of things in it that really are alive. I'm sure you can feel all the little tiny living things in this soil here. You can't see them, because they're really, really tiny, but you can feel them. But even the parts that aren't moving and reproducing, are still alive." He sprinkled the dirt back to the ground and picked up a jagged rock. "This rock has sat here for a thousand thousand years. If a goat ran by and knock it into the river, in another thousand years it might be nice and smooth, a perfect sling bullet. But if I can just connect with the rock, and make it imagine itself in a round form right now..." Sepp closed his fist around the rock, closed his eyes, and hummed a little. When he opened his hands the rock was a perfect round bullet. "It's pretty easy with rocks, because for the most part, they don't care what shape they're in, they just want to stay together."

Sepp took a deep breath and then blew it out. "Okay, let's talk about air. I'm not so good at talking to the wind, but I'll tell you what I know. By the way, all of this is stuff that Ma taught me, it's not like I'm really smart or anything. Most days around here are like today, pretty windy. The air is always going from one place to another. Unlike rocks, the air usually does want to go to a particular place, so it's harder to get its attention and ask it to do something else, but it's possible." He stretched out his arms and let the wind blow through his hair. He brought his hands together and held a small whirlwind in them. He sent it off towards Jex, and it messed up Jex's hair. "Sorry Jex," Sepp called. "Well, that's about all I can do with the wind, or ask it to help me start a fire, which it is usually happy to do. Wind and fire usually go together."

"Fire is interesting, because it usually likes to rip things up to make more fire. In a way, it does reproduce itself. Fire Ones like to be together, but they're not very smart. They get to a blaze, and then they just rush off into the sky and get cold again. That's why it was pretty easy for me to get them to jump into my sword and daggers back in the village. And things don't have to have flames coming out of them to have fire in them." He took out the rock that had become the bullet. "This rock has been sitting in the sun most of the morning, soaking up its fire, and it doesn't really need it. If I ask the rock to let the fire go and the fire to come out, it will." The rock suddenly heated up and shot out a small tongue of flame. "With so many things around soaking up fire, if you had a loud enough voice to ask them, you could make a really big fire. I know it sounds easy, but believe me it's actually pretty hard to make anything more than a firestarter."

"Goodness, all this talking is making me thirsty." He took out a goat skin of water and took a drink. "Water is everywhere, of course. Especially in your blood, but it's also in the air. You can see it in the morning dew on the leaves, where it likes to sit. But if you're thirsty and can't wait to collect dew, you can ask it to get together for you, like this." He cupped his hand and looked sternly at it for a few seconds. A small amount of water suddenly appeared in it, and he lifted it to his mouth to drink. "Of course, you know that ice is cold water and steam is hot water, so if you are really good at asking things of fire, water, and cold, you can do all sorts of fun things with them. I'm just not really good, yet."

"Well, I hope that you learned something usefull enough to make you feel like you got a good trade by telling me how you made those rats and dogs big and tough. I'd really like to know."

With that, Sepp FINALLY shut up.

 

Jex slowed his steps and fell into line with Del. "You said you were raised amongst the elves. But you didn't recognize my heritadge. I ask how that could be. Have you not heard of Dark elves?"

 

"No. Indeed, I was not even aware of any details of the outside world until a few years ago. I spent more than 20 years dedicating myself to my chosen art, ignoring all else." A slow smile spread across Delphinae's face as she seemed to drift into memories of her childhood. Absently stroking her bow, she continued, "I had always wondered what it was really like."

Snapping back to the conversation, Del regarded Jex quizzically. "My foster parents did mention that not everyone was the same as they or I, but they did not specifically mention 'Dark elves'. Is that what you purport to be?"

 

"The real world is not how the elves view it. Thats for sure. And yes, my father was a dark elf or Drow if you prefer. My mother was a human though. So I've ended up with the best traits of both you could say."

 

Looking at Jex's well-muscled body, Delphinae commented, "Well, you do have a good physique, and you did a fair enough job of fighting off those who tried to enter the tavern. So you are half-elven then, a simple circumstance of birth. As a human who grew up amongst elves I can understand that, and I certainly won't hold it against you."

Seeing that they had finally fallen far enough behind the group, Del stopped and turned a questioning look on Jex. She began to speak rapidly, and quietly enough so that only she and Jex could hear. "Your actions so far have been decent enough, but I have not yet been able to discern your motives. You do not seem to share the druid's fascination with the Earth's Heart, and judging by your comments when we first met, you do not despise the Fellowship as I do. Sepp has obvious reasons for pursuing both, and Nakia seems to have taken to him, but you remain aloof." Finally slowing her speech, Del narrowed her eyes at the half-elf. "So tell me, good sir, what reason have you to travel with this group?"

[ July 22, 2005, 19:45: Message edited by: Felinoid ]

 

"Sepp needed help. I found him sleeping outside of the temple in Iceborn. He told me his story and I agreed to help him." Jex looked at Del and smiled "The easier answer is, I had nothing better to do. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a common mercanary, but I was travelling through Iceborn and met Sepp and he told me his story. I had nothing better to do and it promised me at least one fight, so I agreed to help him."

 

Kelvados and Delinos DeVir walk in. Kelvados walked stealthly like a ranger but carried at least 15 blades. His brother in robes of a magi walked straight like a man with power.

They sat down, ordered their drinks and awaited any events to unfold.

 

Delinos was looking around, and then decided to block his mind from intrusions. He had a bad feeling about this place.

 

A serving wench came up to the two strangers who had just come in and plopped down two mugs of wine. "Sorry, we're all out of ale. After the fight with those zombies last night, Sort broke out the ale kegs for everybody who was left alive and thirsty from the battle and was cleaning up. Once those fishermen start drinking free ale, they don't know how to stop. Cleaned us out, they did. Too bad you two weren't here with us then. By the looks of you, we might have won the fight without losing any townfolk if you'd been there. Well, are you hungry? I'd suggest the fish, it's fresh and you'll be sure where it's from. Cookie is frying up some liver, but to tell you the truth, I bet it came from those fresher zombies."

 

"Of course, but," hiding his face," was there any other adventurers passing through here?" After a little more prying, the wench told him about the halfling and company, who were heading north. "Thanks," he said, with a mouthful of fish. "We should follow those others." he said to his brother. After Kelvados finished complaining, they set out after the adventurers.

 

Jex nodded to Del "Was that answer suitable enough? You are correct I have no great reason to be here. I'll live along time and I have to do something until I die. You know that as you were raised with the elves. So tell me, how did that come to be?"

 

Delphinae visibly relaxed. "Quite suitable indeed. So you are simply a walking bloodbath. I suppose you are probably the only reason that the rest of the group is still alive. Nakia seems capable enough, but I doubt she could go toe-to-toe with the entire Fellowship on behalf of Sepp and Atten.

"To answer your other question, I was a child of the wilderness for about my first three years. One day, my adoptive father found me while he was out hunting elk, for food of course. He and his wife raised me as their own. It was never really a secret that I was adopted; the ears pretty much gave it away."

Del looked up ahead to the still-moving party. "Mayhap we should catch up in case they need protecting. I have a feeling that this trip to Sepp's valley will not be as uneventful as we might hope."

 

Keeping a watch on everything around her Nakia looked up and saw Maron flying scout ahead of them. She was a beautiful sight gliding on the currents of air.

Jex and Del were a little behind talking as they moved along. Sepp and Atten were also together talking.

She moved into the forest at the side and fell back behind the others. Maron was taking care of the front but things often came from behind and she decided to keep an eye on the rear.