[The Road] All's Quiet on the Southern Front [Talen]

[Tabarnac]

Zagary crouched down and sniffed at the writing, which looked a pregnant black in the gathering gloom. The copper tang hit the back of his sinuses like a sucker punch, and he came up cursing. He didn't even bother looking to the skies, but looked around at ground level now. "It's blood," he affirmed. "Can't say as it's human or not, but this isn't Zith work." He looked back the way from which they came, and forward to where they were going, grunted, and looked to his wingman. He sighed. "This isn't good. Let's get a move on, hustle through our patrol, and report in. They'll want to send someone with magic eyes to look at this, I'll wager. Bring Haimon in to taste it... But we have to look for other clues, give them as clear a picture as we can."

[Talen Stirling]

Talen nodded at Zay's observations, they matched his own yet did little to explain what had happened. That was still only for Eyris to know. He gave a single curt nod and a hint at a salute as Zay finished his decision making. Although it was questionable if it was safe to continue in the darkness, he couldn't but agree that it was their duty to try. Talen walked a little ways forward from the bloody wall, looking at the surrounding area for any other markings, signs of combat or anything at all suspicious or out of place. Finding nothing, he'd look for Zay to start the quick march, ready to follow at any pace he might decide. He threw him a brief smile - Yet deep down felt the claw of fear crawl up his back, and upset his stomach. He loosened the leather string holding the shield on his back, and took a gulp of his watersack before following any orders - or to any place.

[Tabarnac]

Once they had wet their throats, he began a brisk walk that was at least double the speed of their previous ramble. Aquiras willing, this would be a short and uneventful journey to the end of the Road and back. The banter disappeared and the men showed themselves to be sons of Denval, disciplined and alert when danger threatened their homes. Zagary didn't need to pull his long daggers to be formidable, but merely had to bash heads in with his heavy metal vambraces. When they got to the end of the Road, there didn't appear to be any other clues that the night would reveal. But squinting in the moonlight all the same, Zagary did his best to uncover what might be hidden. Suddenly from up above, they heard laughter, a child's laughter. Yet for all its apparent youth, it sounded rather sinister, ringing out of the nowhere above them, reverberating along the walls of the Road. The elder guardsman immediately backed to the wall, a dagger pulled and eyes on the lip of the walls above Talen where he backed to the opposite wall, well trained as he was to work in tandem. The laughter began to fade as if with distance, and began to sound almost like terrified sobs.

[Talen Stirling]

The growing gloom held nothing on their light run to the end of the road. It felt both comforting to get on the move and go somewhere, yet at the same time unnerving to run headlong into the unknown, disregarding whatever dangers might be ahead. If not for his pride and his companion Talen thought he might've turned tail and headed back to report, yet alongside Zay there could be no fear. As they neared the end of the road, facing cliffs, vegetation and debris, nothing but silence and a little equipment from the construction greeted them, illuminated by light reflected off the sky and the cliffs. Looking around, wondering if they'd been running to follow a dead trail, an eerie laughter suddenly rang out. Talen startled, quickly moving backwards towards the wall opposite Zay, looking around and above for any movement or bodies. He took out hissword and pulled his shield off of his back in a sweeping motion, angling it upwards just below his head, as to avoid impairing his vision. His heartbeat felt almost as loud as the creepy laughter, which seemed wrong in this place. As the laughter slowly subsided, Talen hesitated to lower his guard and shot Zagary a questioning glance. What kind of creature, magical or not, made a sound like that and left bloody writings on the wall? Someone cursed or posessed somehow perhaps, yet he could make no educated guess. If nothing followed the disappearance of the eerie laughter, Talen let his shield arm fall to his side and rested the tip of his blade on the ground, looking around on the surrounding area whilst talking. "So... Y'think we can go back now after lookin' for clues?" He couldn't resist a faint smile in the dark dusk as he looked around for anything or nothing, there was something amazing yet terrifying about the situation.

[Tabarnac]

"We aren't going to be able to trail someone in the dark after climbing that," he said, explaining his imminent decision to Talen, but also working it out for himself. "Let's hustle back and report. The Captain can decide if we come back in force or wait for morning." He didn't put his dagger away, but kept a wary watch on the lip of the cliff above. There was a part of Zagary that wanted to climb the cliff and deal with the threat, but his more rational side prevailed. It was one thing to be brave, yet another to needlessly endanger a friend and fail to follow protocol, which would put all of Denval at yet greater risk. "You lead the way," he said curtly. "Hustle, but be careful. I'll watch your back."

[Talen Stirling]

He nodded in agreement at Zagary as he explained his decision; there was a nice simplicity to life when all you had to do was take orders and perhaps try to improve the decisions that others made. This patrol had been interesting, so for once there'd actually be something good to report. Perhaps it was pride or greed, but he felt happy about for once having something, even if not a defeated enemy, to show for their work. "Yessir.," He murmured with a confident smile as he slid the sword into it's scabbard and threw the shield over his back fastening the leather strip holding it in place with a rehearsed movement. Looking up along the road the dusk was fading quickly into night, and light was becoming sparse inbetween the tall cliffs around The Road. He started a jolting trot, not an outright run but still alot faster than regular walking. The sudden moves made the shield on his back and sword at his hip jump up and down, adding and removing weight with each step. Talen rested a hand on his sword hilt and took hold of the strap which held his shield in place on his back. Running with weaponry, though thankfully not much armour, was always tough work and needed practice and technique. A wayward sword to drag you down every other step could make a normal walk feel like a deathmarch. The fatigue in his legs felt familiar, and he made sure to keep his breath steady and natural. He'd never enjoyed endurance training, yet running wasn't terrible when he had abit of energy and adrenaline left. Still, being dragged down by his shield and sword removed any enjoyment it could have offered, and was quite hard wo-- He shook his head and focused on the task at hand, telling himself it was nothing to think about. The darkness remained easy to navigate for now on the empty road. His eyes looked far forward on the road as well as on to the sides of the cliffs ahead. In all honesty, he didn't expect any hostiles but what had just occurred still left him more cautious than an ordinary watch. Soon only the top of tall cliffs in the horizon were coloured red and yellow, and often deep shadows would cover the path they were following. His attention occasionally swerved to the road at his feet, though debris and obstacles were rare on the considerably new road, which everyone took pride in having created and tried to keep in good shape.

[Tabarnac]

XP Award! Talen XP Award: Running +2; Longsword +1; Shield +1; Investigation +3; Unarmed Combat +1; Socialization +5 Additional Notes: Sorry to end it there, but the reporting would just be repetitive. Now Talen can spread rumors or whatever he wants to do. This is just a taste of things to come! The Longsword and Shield come from him running with them and paying attention to how he moves with them, which is all part of the training to my mind: that familiarity with one’s tools. The Unarmed is for punching Zagary in the shoulder. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns. Keep writing!