Verlyna's Emerald Pool [Open]

by **Syndela** on July 29th, 2011, 6:44 am

Distractions seemed common in this city. What is it with unable to get a moment of peace here? Syncronised, the remaining standing men kneeled down to peer over the work of the one who prodded at the earth. Strange behaviour, something primative, like hey had found some luscious yam underneath the soil to harvest. It was only then that is struck her what the humans may be up to. " Yesss.." She replied back, keeping her eyes locked on the group. " They are tracking, or seem to be. This one is prodding the ground where you were standing. " Pointing a lithe claw at the group, the scene played out.

Having noted the footprints the humans turned to the trees, scanning the foliage and mass vegetation with ascerning stares, looking off into the shrubbery in search of their target. The largest and smallest parted and walked off in 'V' pattern, heading toward the area where both Bones and Syndela had hidden. The middle sized man stood guard at the edge of the pool, adjusting the crossbow attached to his wrist gauntlet. The device was unnerving, for who knew what types of poison the quivers could have been dipped into.

Wisely, Syndela pulled back her hood to hide the white hair, attuning to the shadows. " What do you say we do now? I cannot tell if they are hunting you or me...or us both. " Blood eyes peered at Bones with a hint of concern, yet danger lurked behind the crimson orbs - a certain madness or lust for an unknown craving. " Ether that or they might not be here for us. This situation is only getting more complex, I'm afraid. " Syndela switched targets and discerned the scout with an adamant glare. Feeling out of depth was not to do as she wanted, but since they were outnumbered then what choice did the two man-eating humanoids have? It was up to Bones now.

by **Ssafirsotibones** on July 29th, 2011, 7:09 am

As the humans continued on there way, it seemed they were trying to track something. Now this could either be that they were hunting one of them or both of them... Or they could just be really bad tracker's and mistook his human prints as that of an animal.

Either way, they did not seem to be going away. They did not really have to many options. If they were skilled enough to find them, then there was little point in hiding. And if not, then there was no point hiding from ineptitude. Either way, he might as well reveal himself, and find out which.

Moving himself, he situated his pack so that it would stay in the tree, along with taking off his robe and stuffing it away. Now in just his shirt, pants, and his gladius strapped on his back, he had much less to deal with.

Thinking quickly, he decided the best course of action. Simple enough, put the brute force out front to face the problem, leaving the lighter part to watch what would happen, and if necessary attack from stealth.

There was the chance she would just run away and abandon him in a fight, but he decided to trust her, and in there mutual dislike of humans.

"All right, here is what we do. I will go down to talk to them, and sssee what they want. Alssso, it will distract them to ssink I am alone."

"You ssstay up here, and watch what happensss. If it turns ugly, you can sssneak around and attack them from the sssides or behind. Now the two clossser ssshould block me from the one with the crossssbow, so he cannot hit me. Which means you can get him while dissstracted."

"Hopefully they do not want usss, but we will sssee..."

Having said this, he made his way down out of the tree, and landed face to face near the two men that had been approaching them. He tried not to look like he was threatening them, and greeted them, in his slow sibilant speech.

"Hello... Can I help you?.. Are you looking for sssomessing? Or are you just enjoying the place?..."

by **Syndela** on July 29th, 2011, 8:22 am

As the crunch of the Dhani's fall met the ear of men, they turned in alarm, flashing their teeth as their mouthes were left agape. " Bloody 'ell! " The biggest of them all screeched, jabbing out his polearm instinctively at the Dhani though didn't make contact. An awkward air flowed between the three, the smaller man with the customised hammer glancing back and forth between Bones and the man with the crossbow. Raising the ranged weapon with his arm extended, the much skinnier male of the group gave a smug countenance, holding only an ego a cocky ringleader could prevail.

" So you've decided to show yourself? " Confirmed the middle heighted man who evoked a voice that slashed through the air like a cunning knife. The crossbow on his wrist tightened as if by automation, a set of gears and latches hidden within the gauntlet. Was the hand prosthetic?

" Uhh..." Came a thuggy tone bellowing from the polearmed man, his head swivelling to meet the gaze of the other. " I don't think this is the right guy. He is too big and has no hair. " Frowning, the man with the crossbow attachment lowered his arm ever slightly to lean forward and narrow tight eyelids. Beads of perispiration fell against his nose and ran from the bridge down to the nostrils, suggesting underneath the cool and calm exterior there was a man beating against his chest from the inside in panic.
" How do we even know? He matches the description, doesn't he? " This time the question was directed toward the shortest and stockiest man, his fat belly protruding out from the folds of metal armor.
" The description mentioned a tall bloke with tanned skin and he has it, doesn't he? " The bald man looked back and forth with only his poorly cut rat's tail haircut lashing with the sharp movements. What a terrible sense of style.
" But uh, he doesn't have hair. The poster kinda said he had blonde hair? "

Confusion descended like a thick blanket over the three men, bickering amoung themselves as to what to do, who was what and whether they were even in the right place. Gathering from the conversation, it was a plausible option that the group were mercenaries or bounty hunters for hire. Their robust but lack of knowledge indicating neglect of scholaring in their upbringing. Syndela on the other hand found their uncivilsed discussion to her amusement, the red lips of the Symenestra curling in humor. Albeit the comical display, she knew what was to happen if they turned against Bones and remained perched in the treetops, awaiting for any signs of foul play.

by **Ssafirsotibones** on July 29th, 2011, 6:29 pm

Bones listened to the men as they argued. He did wonder what was going on. He had not done anything that might have people hunting him... At least not recently... Well there was that one time... no, that was not bad enough to send someone hunting after him.

One thing was for sure, they were not the smartest bunch around. Not only were they not knowledgeable about what they were after, they were arguing in front of a possible victim.

"Sssory, I don't mean to interupt... But what isss the name of the one you are trying to find? And what did they do? If you tell me, I can sssay if you have the right perssson."

This was a bit of a weak argument, but Bones thought he should try it. He already knew they were not to smart, so maybe they would fall for this. If they did, he would find out if he was wanted, and for what. Or that they had the wrong guy. And if it did not, he would be no worse off than he already was.

So it was worth a try. And who knows, it might work...

by **Syndela** on July 30th, 2011, 1:20 am

As they continued to argue over their newly found target the men grew increasingly agitated. Friction appeared between the guy with the polearm and the other with the crossbow; the 'mastermind' or self proclaimed leader. Their words were put on hold as Bones asked for their reasons and evidence. Great. If they were not as confused as before, they sure were now. Marring each of their faces was an expression of doubt, disgust amoung other things.

With crossbow still aiming at Bones, the male possessing the lethal attachment cracked his own neck in a crude sudden motion, probably to let off some steam or give off that 'Yeah, I'm a bad boy' vibe. " We aren't hunting a guy with a name, the poster only gave a description and possible location as to where he might be. They are a murderer, a killer! Can you beleive that? "
A chuckle of forced laughter issued from the man, and commanded the others to play along. All three laughed away with eachother, their chests heaving a bit too dramatic. It was like they knew nothing of style or how to appear intimidating, but maybe this is how the people acted from wherever they crawled out from? " He's about your hieght, I think. Blonde ha- "
The marskman was cut by the suggestion of the pikeman. " No! Wait! I think it said red hair? " They rolled their eyes, crossbow lowering as the man scavenged into his backpack. " Keep guard. " He commanded and sought to rummage through the heavy bag, hoping to find the poster to clarify whether this was the right man or not.

Abiding the orders, the pikeman and shorter hammer-wielding human approached Bones with weapons drawn. " You're not going anywhere until we sought this mess ou'. " Licking his lips, the bald fat man gave Bones a cocky yet almost suggestive gesture, obviously excited in finding someone to bully. Syndela pranced above, gently walking across the thinning branch on all fours to survey the group of bounty hunters underneath.
To her luck, at the end of the branch was a medium sized web and within it, a spider. Wanting to distract the humans even further, the Symenestra carefully let her black nails dismantle the natural trap. Thick string and sticky in nature wafted with the breeze, causing the black spindely creature to hunch it's legs and cling onto its home. Albeit, the wind carried the web and brought it onto the disorganised hapless men. Sharp legs landed onto the crossbowman's back, the critter making way down his back- crawling toward a crack in his trousers.

" Uhhh...." Was all that was said in responce in spotting the spider walk down his bosses back, the pikeman blinked, finding himself dumbfounded in seeing the creature disappear behind the beltline and into his pants.
Suddenly, the marksman leapt up wildly, his legs kicking frantically at the ground. He yelped and howled, whining like a child whom had his foot trampled on or stuck his finger into a mechanised rat trap. The sight of the leader bouncing around like a ragdoll tore the attention away from Bones, giving him the chance to flee or do as he wished while the humerous distraction took hold.

by **Ssafirsotibones** on July 30th, 2011, 4:39 am

Listening, Bones stifled the urge to snap all there necks. He did not feel like taking on three armed men at once... Luckily, he was not to hungry, or his stomach might get the better of him... So he stilled his actions, and tried to wait them out.

"And what was this location? If it isss outside of the city, well ssat is a pretty wide area. And if this ssspot, well, I have never even been here before, ssso I doubt anyone would know I was here. As for murder, I am not wanted for murder. Ssso it could not be me. "

It seemed they really were incompetent. They had no clue as to what they were doing. Had they ever done this before? Or were they all just muscle heads? Bones supposed not everyone could have the cunning of a dhani though...

"A possster? Isss it a drawing? I doubt sssuch a thing would be that accurate. And what is even the reward for finding thisss perssson? To bring him sssome were I guessss?"

Bones asked this in passing, both to try and pull the others attention, and to gain information. Since it would be helpful to know what the reward was, and what they were to do with the person they were seeking.

Though if they thought they were bullying or frightening Bones they were wrong. He was not scared, he was not even breathing fast. He simply calmly stood there, listening to the conversation, and interjecting when it seemed to fit.

Then he was surprised to see a spider fall down, landing on the crossbowman's back. As he freaked out and jumped around, Bones took advantage of the situation. Going with the scene, he decided to pretend there was another spider on the man with the pole-arms ear.

Using his great strength, he first shouted out, "There is one in your ear!" Having said this, he used all of his strength to punch that man right in the ear, as he stared at his boss. This would be bad enough, but with Bones' strength being greater than two men, his punch would seriously hurt the man.

If he was lucky, his eardrum would be burst, and his ear mashed, maybe even being knocked out cold. If he was not so lucky, he could be seriously hurt. Regardless, after doing this, he would say, "I got it! Did it bite him?" Playing it off as if he had swatted the spider away, and the reaction was from him being bit by the spider.

Most likely this surprise attack took care of one of the men, and who knew what the spider in the other mans pants might bite with its venom...

by **Syndela** on July 30th, 2011, 5:09 am

The impact of the Dhani's fist on the man's face caught him off guard. Just before it had made contact the eyes of the human shot open, whites exposed so widely it may have popped his eyes out. Colliding with the attack at the side of the head, the pikeman was sent flying to his side. Metal rattled and jingled in a loud crashing sound as his body fell out cold. Polearm fell with it's owner and too crashed into the soft grass albeit making a less dramatic collision.

Howling and stomping around in agony however was the marksman. Holding his buttocks he jumped around, back arched and thighs quivering. Though the spider was most likely dead by now from the pummeling the bite of the small critter had certainly earned itself a worthy death. Pain afflicted his features as his knees buckled. " My ass! My ass is on fire!~" He shriked, clutching his pants and undoing the belt with haste.
Torn between going to see if his commrade was okay and attending to his boss, the hammer wielding shorter man dropped his weapon neglectfully and rushed to the swirling waters of Verlyna's Pool. The idiot thought his buttocks were on actually on fire...

Syndela laughed, the chuckling feathery and drawn out in hisses. Enveloping the branch she twisted and hung down, loosening the grip and floating toward the ground. Or more so, aiming for the pain-afflicted human. Unaware of the danger that was about to impact on his spine, he continued to remove his clothes.
Rudely, the pants were removed along with the underwear, being pushed down to his thighs where he swatted down his genitals and buttocks. The flesh perceived to be sore and red, a large blister visible on one of the cheeks. Green blood dripped down and smudged against the thigh, the last remains of the spider yet even so the area of skin around the green fluid amounted to inflamation.

Stepping aboard the males hunched back, the female made short work and gripped the mans hair. In a flick of fingers of his sweaty brow she hit the pommel of her kris against his temple. Blungeoned, his eyes rolled back into skull and with a flop, he was too, was out cold.

The last bandit didn't notice the attack, his back facing the two deviating figures. Instead he was curled over, attempting to soak his cape in the waters. Stubby fingers reached out but couldn't touch the emerald liquid, far too short and not enough leverage. " I'll help you! " Shouted the fat man, unknowingly realising how close he was to joining his brethren.

by **Ssafirsotibones** on July 30th, 2011, 5:29 am

His plan had gone well. The one man was incapacitated, and there was a good chance he had some kind of brain damage. Either way, he would not be getting up for a while.

In the meantime, Syndela had taken the opportunity to come down and kill a victim of her own, or at least knock him out.

In the mean time, there was still the one man trying to get water out of the pond. Walking quietly up behind him, Bones stood there.

"Here, let me help you reach the water..."

Saying this, he put one of his bare feet out, and gave an almighty nudge. Pushing the man forward, he slipped face first into the pool of water. For a few seconds bubbles of air rose, and then suddenly stopped. For some odd reason, most likely the magic of the spot, the man did not resurface. Who knew what had happened.

Walking back over to Syndela, Bones looked at the two remaining men. Giving an odd smile, which was more creepy than happy, he spoke once more.

"So, what should we do with these lumps of flesh here?"

Having said this, he quickly climbed back up the tree, retrieving his pack and items. He slowly descended, listening for Syndela's answer.

by **Syndela** on July 30th, 2011, 7:11 am

Splash! The human fell in face first, the heavy plate breastplate and boots dragging him down into the swirling green depths. Verlyna had drowned here herself, perhaps her soul may have enjoyed the addition of another? Only a few bubbles escaped to the surface, popping blankly until no more appeared. He was gone.
The attention of the Symenestra shifted to the fallen commrades, out cold and sagged against grass. A hint of sadistic nature opened, prizing her mouth to form a grin. White canines perfectly sharp began to grow, splitting beneath her lips to hook above the chin. " I want one. " The hooded figure pointed toward the fallen crossbowman with kris still in hand. Silvery metal danced against the green lighting projected by the fountain, casting an eerie ghostlike glow against the pale knuckles that held the handle.

" You did well, Bones. " Her eyes veered toward the fallen marksman, the smell of copper lifting into the air. Trickles of crimson dripped against the temple, the tight pommel of the kris causing an internal bleed, if hopefully a minor one.

As the carnivorious teeth extended, she felt behooved to cut off the man's collar as she leaned down to his corpse. Smacking lightly against his neck, the fangs of Syndela penetrated the exposed flesh, digging in enough to test how pungent the flesh was, and healthy. Instead this man did not eat well, though the physique compared to his employees was the most attractive.
" I am growing hungry and though I don't usually pick humans, this one will serve as a fine meal, thanks to you. "
Quiantly she nodded, bowing her head just slightly. A sign of gratitude in a small and sincere way.

Curiously her vision turned toward the mess of the pikeman, his clattered armor making his body appear very awkward. A painful landing may have bruised his ribs. " What of the other? " Fingers thread through the sticky hair of the male human, feeling for his pulse. Yes, it was still there. Good. Syndela preferred them alive.

by **Ssafirsotibones** on July 30th, 2011, 7:47 am

Watching, he saw with an odd sense of enjoyment as the one in the pool did not rise. Turning, he saw Syndela sink her teeth into one of the men, and then to inspect him. It appeared she wanted the crossbower for a meal.

"No problem... Well, it is sssimple really, we half them. You ssseem to like the crossssbower, I will take the one with the pike..."

Setting down his pack, he took off his shirt and pants, stowing them away. With only his gladius strapped on, he looked over at Syndela, and began to transform into his dhani form.

Unlike a Kelvic, his transforming took time. At first the bit of hair he had pulled back into his skin. Next his skin changed in appearance, and the impressions of scales became visible.

His legs started to meld together, becoming a long tail. As they combined, it grew longer, trailing out behind him. His face elongated, and his head became more snake like.

His nostrils flattened, becoming slits, and his mouth changed, becoming that of a snake, which could unhinge. Finally his legs stretched completely, becoming a tail, which stretched out far behind him. From snout to tail, he was much longer, he was over three times as long as in his human form.

His arms took on a new strength, looking more solid and vastly stronger than what his human form could do. Finally he finished, and he let out a long hiss, of pleasure. It was good to be in this form once more...

"Ah, it is good to be back in thisss ssskin..."