The Suvan Expedition: Departure

[Verilian]

Clydes method of defense was most unexpected for the Zith. As the res entered it's lungs it jumped back and began to cough, soon falling to the ground as it thrashed about trying to breath. Clutching it's throat the Zith tried to scream, but the noise only came out as a pathetic gurgling sound. And then the res was ignited. The Zith's eyes widened in panic for just an instant before its head erupted in flames. A gout of fire flew out of its mouth and small tendrils of flame poured from its nose. The Zith's eyes blackened and burned, and in an instant the entire head went up in flames. Vivus, who had set up spears and managed to fend off one persistent Zith, finally ran out of weapons and was forced to engage the Zith in melee. The creature proved his better, easily disarming the man and catching hold of him. Vivus tried to struggle, he tried to escape, but Zith claws dug deep into his flesh. He lashed out with his knee hoping to dislodge the Zith's grip on him, but the monster bit into his neck, tearing out a chunk of flesh. Vivus' cry of agony was stifled by the fact that his throat was no more, and he began to sink to his knees. He never reached the ground, however, as the Zith grasped him in it's claws and flew away with him. The Zith Gallo was fighting moved to slash the man across the back, but a spectral punch from the Nuit surprised again. A second punch and the Zith stumbled forward, bumping into Gallo as he turned to face it. The Zith quickly shoved the man away and dove to the side hoping to avoid another invisible blow, but Elianos got it anyway. Finally deciding that fighting ghosts was just a bit too much, the Zith decided to flee the scene. Horst, ten feet off the ground, continued to struggle for his life. He didn't know what would happen when they finally got to where they were going, and he didn't intend to find out. Apparently the Zith didn't like the idea of bringing an armed warrior to it's camp because a moment later it decided to drop the man. Gallo fell through the air and hit the ground hard. If he had any sense about him he'd roll to absorb some of the impact, otherwise he was looking at broken bones instead of bruises. The remaining Zith all seemed to think the fight was no longer worth it. They'd seen a few of their brethren killed, and one burnt from the inside out. The Zith all took wing and retreated. Still, they'd gotten away with six of the expedition. The Zith were going to have a fine meal that night. As the camp recovered from the attack Elianos and Julian finished patching up the wounded man. He'd fallen asleep again so it would be some time before they could get some answers. All attempts to rouse him seemed to be failing. They would just have to wait until he recovered some more. The following morning Simian called for the caravan to move again, and things returned to normal. The rest of their journey was fairly uneventful. There were a few minor problems, but no major attacks. There was another broken wheel, setting them back another day. An unexpected snowstorm set them back three more, and there were various other minor setbacks. All in all, it took them a lot longer to reach their destination than planned. Finally they arrived on the coast of the Suvan Sea. It was the 85th of Winter, spring was nearly upon them, but they'd finally arrived. The sea was a wonder to behold. The Ravokian's were used to large bodies of water, but Lake Ravok paled in comparison to the size of the vast sea before them. It stretched on for miles and miles to distant lands only heard about in the stories of passing merchants. Out there were sharks, whales, and other great beasts of the sea, as well as the Svefra. Somewhere to the south was the hated city of Syliras, and further still they would find Riverfall, and other cities. But they couldn't stand and appreciate the place for long. They had a job to do, and Simian set the laborers to work immediately. Timestamp: 92nd of Winter, 511 AV - Mid Afternoon Location: Future Site of the Suvan Trade Outpost Horst Haestad & Gallo Duplais For Horst and Gallo the work had begun immediately upon their arrival seven days ago. The expedition was met by a contingent of guards protecting a large supply of wood and stone. Apparently this wasn't the first expedition to the coast. Several had gone before to transport building supplies, but with this final expedition had come the actual work force. The guards departed the day after the expedition arrived, returning home to Ravok, as they were relieved by the guards from the expedition. Simian quickly called the workers together and told them what needed to be done. While the architects hashed out the final design plans for the building itself, the laborers would be busy building a wall. And that's what they'd been doing for the seven days since they'd arrived. The wall was even more important than the building itself, they had been told, because the Knights of Syliras would surely advance on them once they were discovered and the defenses needed to be built first. At that particular moment on the 92nd day of Winter, Horst and Gallo were assembling the gate itself. "Horst, Gallo! Help me pull this beam up," shouted one of the workers from atop the gate. The man tossed down a rope to Horst, which had been slung over the gate. The man on top would move it into position, as Horst and Gallo pulled it up to him. The beam was large and heavy and it would take both of their strength to get it off the ground. They might even need more help, but they could probably manage it on their own.. so long as the rope didn't break. Unfortunately the workers were not engineers. They didn't have pulley systems and rollers and things of that sort. They were just pulling the rope across another beam of wood already in place. It could easily break. OOCFeel free to come up with some more creative stuff to work on after this. This was just to get you started. I will react to whatever you do. Elianos Elianos and his fellow doctor Julian were busy making their rounds. Their cases had been fairly easy after the Zith attack. Sprained ankles, minor fevers, maybe a rash or two, but nothing major or life threatening. Frankly, it was rather boring. That was if you ignored the mystery man from the Zith attack. He kept both doctors very busy. The man's wound had gotten infected, but Simian demanded that he be saved, if only to interrogate him when he finally awoke. It was hard work battling an infection with only meager supplies and knowledge. Elianos had to do their best to keep him healthy while still keeping supplies in stock for the rest of the camp. More than once they had to send the hunters out in search of medicinal herbs, something most of the hunters weren't accustomed to looking for. The results were usually fruitless, but sometimes they would bring back a useful ingredient or two. Their patient had awakened a few times throughout the journey, but he was mostly incoherent and no information could be gathered from him. He would be in a daze until the feaver finally passed, most likely. It was Elianos turn to tend him that day. Simian had already come by to ask for results and, without even looking, Elianos told him there had been no change. ...but.. perhaps the Nuit should go ahead and check in on him just in case. As it turns out, there had been a change. The man was covered in sweat, but not a bad sweat. It was the sort of sweat a man got just before his fever broke. For the first time in days he was breathing normally again, and he finally seemed to be recovering. As Elianos bent over the man for a closer look his eyes fluttered open, a look of surprise quickly overcoming his face when he saw the stranger above him. "Wh.. where am I!? Who are you, what are you trying to do to me!? Clyde Sullins Clyde was out on patrol. They had been in the area seven days and there seemed to be no impending threat of an attack by knights or monsters, so most of the guard had been set to scouting out the surrounding wilderness, looking for anything of use. Clyde was doing his part, even though he had no wilderness survival skills whatsoever. Luckily his dog did, and it did most of the leading. Clyde was about half a day’s walk out from the camp, north along the rocky coast. He was just about ready to turn back when his dog suddenly took off in the opposite direction, barking excitedly. Clyde, of course, would follow the dog though it was rather difficult to keep up on the slippery terrain. When he finally did catch up what he found would be quite surprising. Built atop a rocky crag was a small stone dwelling, probably twenty or thirty feet above the shoreline. Clyde could just barely make out a noise over the wind, a beautiful melody in a woman's voice. And then he spotted her as she passed near the edge of the cliff, her long blonde hair billowing out behind her in the wind. She was incredibly beautiful, even from a distance, and her voice seemed to draw him in. ..or maybe it didn't, maybe Clyde was just imagining that part because he hadn't seen a woman in almost a season. Either way, the woman didn't seem to notice him. At the sound of the barking Clyde's attention was drawn back to his dog which stood at the base of a narrow rocky stairway that wound up around the side of the rocks. The dog seemed to want to follow it up, but it wouldn't go any further without it's master accompanying it. It wouldn't leave either, so Clyde could either climb the stairs and go meet the woman, or leave his dog and return home.. though dragging it behind him by the collar might work just as well. The choice was his. OOCIf anyone has any questions about anything, feel free to PM me. Also, sorry if you got cut off and didn't have time to post. I'm trying to keep this thing moving, so I will be posting once a week. If I skipped you don't worry about it, you are still able to continue.

[Clandestine Duplais]

Gallo continued to chant his word game dedicated to Rhysol as he readied for to fight such a vile creature. Claws splayed, black as night, Gallo imagined they'd be like deadly shadows of the hands themselves. His body was awake, any creaks or stiffness in his legs left him as he hyperventilated and focused on his body's movement aiding the fighting tactic known by others as Flux. Gallo wasn't aware that his focus actually stimulated his djed to help his body become more than just a young man. When the zith made the first move to attack him, he gave back the same enthusiasm. His long shirt sleeves had pulled up over the metal gauntlets, the weapon of his choice. They shined, freshly cleaned, and shown off the almost hate speech like symbol of the Sylirian knight's emblem scratched through and set a light with flame. He yelled as he drew his arm back and through a hard, slash, and potentially crushing punch toward the zith. He was surprised though when the zith seemed to vanish from his sight. He heard the wind whistle from the spikes on his gauntlets, but they were overshadowed by the shrill shriek of talons as they swung close to his ducked head. He wasn't used to an opponent who could fly and took longer to turn back toward the doctors as they worked busily on the foreign man. However, he was struck hard by the stronger zith and stumbled off balance and almost fell to the ground below. Blissfully unaware of how close to injury or even death. Gallo watched still alert with his back toward the forest as the zith seemed to be broken in his head. He watched as the body jerked about by an invisible force before finally the zith seemed to retreat. Gallo was unaware of his breath until he twitched and turned as if he heard something as it breathed behind him. His heart thumped from the adrenalin of it all, but soon found through his panic that he had only spooked himself. The ziths seemed to be on a collective retreat and as those beast took flight he began to calm himself. It was during the falling action, that he began to think and doubt himself. “Am I really cut out for this? If it weren't for luck I'd be dead.” Gallo didn't return to Elianos and the man but instead found himself lost in a familiar environment of the destroyed camp. The shock was great for the young man, but he managed to live and firmly believed that the encounter could only make him stronger. He would never know, or care to think about the idea that the strange doctor had saved his skin. The caravan regrouped and shortly what remained of the group began to make their trek to the Suvan Sea. Thankfully, the travel to the sea was uneventful compared to the last encounter. A broken wheel their, a broken ankle their, and if it happened a person being impaled on a branch, nothing could shake the young teen up more than that encounter with the zith. But as his eyes gazed at the open water of the Suvan Sea, his confidence returned stronger than before. “I wish Clandestine could see what I see now,” he muttered quietly to himself before he began to work and help the others. Seven days had passed, seven long, grueling days of hard labor and construction. On the seventh day, all was not quiet. Gallo grunted as he lifted a heavy beam off the ground. Though he was soon trumped by a larger and brawny man who seemed to be able to carry heavier loads then himself. He felt almost insignificant as he dumped the amount of wood he could handle into a pile for the carpenters. His back ached, his arms ached, everywhere there was an ache, ache, but that didn't discourage him in the slightest. He was here for Rhysol and the Ravokian people. Even if he only drove one nail, he'd feel just as much honor being a part of this event as if he had built the port by himself. Gallo rushed over to the same brawny man as a worker called for help. He eyed the man, more out of admiration of a great body, than anything else. The rope looked rough, but seemed to go with the image of Horst's person. He had to move to his toes to grip the taught end of the rope to help hoist that heavy beam up to the higher levels. He began to pull and felt the pain in his arms grow. To help distract his mind, “names Gallo,” he spoke to Horst through gritted teeth.

[Clyde Sullins]

Of course, when Clyde had done what he had, he had not really been thinking... What if on the off chance the zith was a leecher? He would be giving him pure energy! Though it was unlikely unless he was also a particularly powerful leecher that he could absorb it all before Clyde was able to transmute it... Meaning he would likely still have killed him... But it would have been iffy... If Clyde had been completely sane at the time, that is what would have likely run through his head... But he was not, and so was fortunate that things all worked out in his favor... And he came out alive... Though in the end, perhaps his overuse of magic ended in his favor... Since his flashy use of burning the zith from the inside out was a contributing factor in scaring off the rest of the creatures... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 92 Winter 511 The last few days had passed in a blur... Often people said being busy made time go by, but really nothing of interest had happened... Clyde had simply been patrolling, looking through the area for anything of interest... Well that was not totally true... He was more blindly following along his dog, who seemed to know what it was doing... But so far it had not led him astray, walking steadily at its own pace, always keeping close to Clyde, pausing whenever he fell behind... Like when he tripped in that animal burrow... And the time he had almost knocked himself unconscious on a low hanging branch... But besides those small problems, the last several days had gone very smoothly... Almost to smoothly... So when his dog suddenly took off barking, he hurried up his pace to follow him, as he was sure he must be after something of interest, or important. But he was certainly not ready to find what he did... A house! What the petch was a house doing out here in the middle of nowhere? A stone house? Perhaps it did have something to do with the rocky area, maybe it had been made out of... But he was getting off track, and his focus returned to the house... When he noticed a voice... A woman's voice... A beautiful woman, Clyde thought to himself, as he suddenly saw her on the edge of the cliff... With long blonde hair... And that amazing voice... He lost his breath for a moment, looking at her, and then recalling that he needed air, took in a huge gasp... His view was ripped from the beauty, as Rye barked, waiting for him at the base of a staircase, apparently carved from the same rock which made the cliffs, and which led to the house... Clyde took this as a hint that he wanted to go up, and since Clyde also found himself wanting to go up and see this woman... So he gladly went along, going up the rocky stairs with Rye a bit ahead of him, trying to see were the woman had gone... Perhaps Rye would lead him to her...

[Elianos]

18th Day of Winter, 511 AV

As the last zith flew away, Elianos looked around the scene of the attack. It was a lot better than he thought seeing that the whole expedition was taken by surprise and a lot of the lost causes were already taken by the ziths as he could see, except for his current patient. "Doctor, it would be best if you stitch up his stomach" because Elianos did not feel confident that his hands would reattach properly in time to continue however it did not need to be perfect if "I will assist you with the procedure" with handing over the necessary tools that an ordinary laborer would not know about, wherever he may be since they would never be able to tell the easy difference between a scalpel and a knife.

92nd of Winter, 511 AV

The days went through and Elianos was glad that he had the foresight to buy that book for the expedition. Even with both himself and the scouts lacking the knowledge of the plants he could tell them what to look out for like "you want the mostly green ones and the ones that grow out of other trees. Don't forget the dull striped leaves as well. We are going to need them" Once they brought them he would just leave it there to be worked on on his own time. Hopefully the instructions in the books are good enough because the only thing he wants as a result of his efforts is recognition. More recognition, more reputation and even more chances to be someone in Ravok after he was done with his stepping stone of an expedition.

Which was why at Elianos kept checking back just so that there would be something to tell Simian. After all, "I'm only helped with that" he told the mystery man when he pointed at the missing limb rather pleased with his work. Rifling through some of the goods around in the tent he mentioned in passing that "you're safe from those ziths though the rest of your party is not so lucky." Hopefully the mystery man would not remain a mystery for any longer when he asked "the question is who are you and what were you doing out there?"

As a perverse gesture of goodwill Elianos fished out the remains of the severed leg he has been keeping. A nuit, a body obsessed one like him appreciated the more important things in life which was why a day or so after the attacks, after the expedition was relatively settled down Elianos has been using some of the embalming fluid provided for him to try and preserve the leg, or what was not eaten by the zith. It was a lot more easier than preparing a whole body for himself and since it was not going to be used by anyone except as a memorabilia, he did not have to do a good job with it. Only slapping some fluid here and there on the leg and sending a little bit more in the insides.

"I understand if you can't talk now since you've only just recovered" for one very long time. Fortunately for him Elianos was a nuit so he had a real full time doctor on him if the nuit was interested at that time. The least he had to do was stay the night changing the damp cloths all over him to control the body's temperature, which was the only indicator of his ailment. Now at least "can you tell me how you're feeling? Hot, cold, weak, hungry?" If there was nothing then well, the doctor could always whip something up from the foraged herbs. Maybe something to calm and soothe this man down.

[Verilian]

Horst Haestad & Gallo Duplais Horst did not appear to be the talkative sort, ignoring Gallo's introduction as they both grunted and pulled on the rope. Heave after heave, the heavy beam slowly lifted into the air. At about the half way point Gallo could feel it slipping in his hands. The rope burned, but he held on tight. Another heave and the beam went a little higher. It was almost in reach of the man up top, who would be able to alleviate some of the stress once he was able to grab hold of the beam and guide it into place. They pulled again, the pair working together in silence, and finally the beam was high enough. Quickly the man up top pulled it into place and Gallo felt the relief in his hands as the weight of the beam was taken away from him. This was just one of many such endeavors he'd had to overcome since their arrival at the Suvan Sea. His break was short lived, however, as he was quickly called to more work. Now that the frame was in place, the doors to the gate needed to be assembled. It was a wooden gate, at least for now, and there was an assortment of boards and nails waiting for he and the other workers to get to hammering on. "Gallo, you take that side, I'll take the other," one man said to him as he was handed a hammer and a bag of large nails. Elianos The man blinked in confusion, and then in horror when he saw his severed leg. He tried to sit up, but quickly swooned and fell back into his bed. Something Elianos said seemed to catch his attention though, as his eyes quickly snapped back to focus. "Zith? ..yes.. yes, I remember the Zith. They.. they.. Martin! Did you find Martin!? Is he alive?" Again the man tried to sit up, and again he fell back, still to weak to make such sudden movements. He began to breath heavily again for a few moments, but eventually he calmed and seemed to regain his senses. He shook his head slowly before finally his eyes locked with Elianos again. "..how do I feel? Oh.. ..yes, weak. And.. yes, I'm very hungry. If you could get me some food.. would you. And.. if Martin is alive, please, let me see him. I need to know he's okay. I have to get him to the castle." Clyde Sullins The steps were narrow and sometimes slippery, being so close to the edge of the sea, but it didn't take to long for Clyde to reach the top. He could still hear the woman's voice when he did, though he had come up behind the small stone building so he couldn't actually see her yet. The dog stayed it's ground, waiting for it's master to go forward and make the first move. Assuming that Clyde did go around the building to see the woman, he would find that she wasn't there.. though her voice was coming from the doorway to the building, so it was likely that she was inside. A quick glance around revealed a fairly unremarkable scene. There was a small pit for fire, and a line hung between two large stones that had various layers of garments hanging from it to dry. The building itself was also unremarkable, except for perhaps it's location and the fact that it seemed to be made of carved rock. Before Clyde had a chance to look inside the woman came out, her head down as she untangled the sleeves of a silk shirt. She did not notice Clyde until after she had hung the clothes and turned back around. When she saw the man and his dog she froze, her eyes going wide. The woman was quite beautiful, wearing a sky-blue sleeveless dress that ended just above her knees. She had long flowing blond hair, and shimmering scales on her arms and face that were almost unnoticeable except for when the sun hit them just right, making them sparkle and glow. On her exposed shoulder was a tattoo of some sort, three beautiful flowers that almost seemed to shimmer in the sun as much as her scales. The frightened woman took a few steps back, her hand fumbling on the large stone behind her. From some nook or cranny that Clyde could not see her hand grasped something and in a flash she pulled a strange, three pronged weapon and held it defensively before her. "Who are you? Why did you come here!?"

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde walked on, trying to find the source of the woman's voice... It was almost enchanting in nature, in its beauty... And Clyde did love a nice voice... So hard to find in this harsh world... Especially here in the middle of no where... Excitement mounting, he came around to the front of the house, but the woman seemed to have vanished. As he was about to investigate further though, he did look around a bit... It seemed more or less normal, what you would expect to see.... Then she came walking back out, oblivious to Clyde, preoccupied with what she was doing. She almost seemed to be glowing, like she had some kind of glass that glittered on her skin, as the sun hit her flesh... But even without that, she was still a beauty... He did note one thing, a odd tattoo of a flower... Of course he did not really know much on plants, and did not recognize the meaning of this one, so had no idea what it was for... It was just another mystery for Clyde, as he took her in, and her face slipped to form surprise. He saw her fumble for a moment, as Clyde stood frozen watching her, staff in hand, as she pulled out a odd triple pronged weapon, and held it defensively before her, threatening Clyde. "Who are you? Why did you come here!?" Clyde froze, his mind not working for a moment, as he spluttered, and tried to get a few sylables out. He managed a confused mutter, "I was just walking by... And heard your voice... And had to come and see..." But then his mind catching up to what was going on, he managed to speak reasonably well, though he was just as surprised to see this enchanting woman here, as she was to see him. He tried to remember what there story was... Something about merchants... Going to some city starting with a K... Or a C... Or something... But he did not see much point in lying, they were already there, and it would be quite clear to anyone who saw there work so far, that they were building some sort of permanent structure. "We are out here on a merchant expedition... Trying to make a new trading post to link us to the suvan... I am a guard for the expedition, and was checking the surrounding area for danger... But I found you... Might I ask... Why you are out here alone?"

[Elianos]

No one ever appreciated the same things as the nuit and it was depressing especially when he saw his patient's reaction to his own severed leg. If only he had the same excitement, enthusiasm as he had towards this Martin fellow and the zith attacks although there was no denying that Elianos still wanted his wings but that was of course what he wanted and not what he knew. He could still make the very obvious guess that "I think your Martin is already being eaten by those ziths along with the people that we lost" which was the funniest part of all that Elianos gave a laugh with since he will not get any of those bodies to play with.

"The important thing is you're alive I suppose..." and hungry...and going to a castle? The castle reminded Elianos about something and as the nuit was lost in thought for a few moments, he remembered that the only castle in the region that he knew about is in "Syliras. You are headed there?" That was really something since he was forced to remember a whole lot of lies to throw off any of those people from Syliras which found them. Now this was a very interesting turn of events.

Before trying to get the man some food, Elianos took a stalk of the herb that he read in the book that is good for giving energy because "this is all you should have for now until my associate comes for a second opinion" and pointed to the man's stomach where he had that big wound the last time he found him. "So why is it that you were heading off to Syliras alone with this Martin?" Elianos asked as he put his hand on the man's forehead to see if there was any traces of the fever that remained. "Everyone with some degree of intelligence" which was anyone not from Sahova when the nuit was not in a discriminatory mood "would know that you need a lot of protection just to go through the wildlands on their own" even if the roads might be patrolled.

[Verilian]

Elianos The man readily accepted what little he was given to eat, chewing the bitter herb without any complaints. He didn't know how long he had been out, but from the way his body was begging for more the man knew it must have been a while. He was also thirsty. "If I could have some water also, I would really appreciate it." Drinking the water seemed to help him most of all, since he had lost so much during the fever, his body seriously was in need of rehydration. It would be some time still before he was back to what one might consider a healthy condition, though his life would never truly be the same with the loss of his foot. After a while the man finally seemed to register the other questions Elianos had posed him. Sitting up, a task made difficult by his weakened body, the man began his tale. "We weren't alone. There were six of us in all, five guards and Martin. Martin's father is a knight, and I have served his family for many years now as his son's guardian. It was Martin's birthday and he wanted to go hunting.. that's why we all came. We were tracking a deer when the Zith attacked. Most of us were taken right away, but I managed to fight off the one that tried to grab me. My job was to protect Martin, and the last thing I remember was doing just that.. then, I woke up here. I don't know if he's alive or dead." Telling the story seemed to wear the man out. He tried to answer any other questions but they came out as little more than slurred mumblings. Eventually the man drifted off to sleep once more, leaving Elianos alone to figure out what to do with the information he'd just been given. Clyde Sullins The Konti's eyes scanned Clyde up and down, almost frantically, as she listened to his reason for being there. After he was done they both stood there tensely for nearly a chime before the woman finally let out a sigh. Clyde wasn't sure whether or not she believed him, from the look on her face, but the fact that she lowered her weapon was a plus. She didn't put it away, however, just tucked it into her belt, but it was better than nothing. "I live here. Why else would I be here? Come inside, have some tea. I just made it, so it's still hot." It was odd, the complete three-sixty she seemed to take, as she walked right past Clyde completely confident in herself. Gone was the scared woman from moments before. If Clyde followed her inside he would find her pouring two glasses of tea from a steaming tea kettle. The inside of the house was rather quaint. A table made from what looked like carved stone sat in the center of the room. The base of it literally grew up out of the floor, rather than being a separate piece to the rest of the room. There were two chairs set at the table, also made of stone, though they were not attached to the floor as the table was. There was also a fireplace, presumably where she had cooked the tea, and a stairwell that led down under the ground. The Konti sat down first, blowing the steam off the top of her cup as she motioned for Clyde to join her. If he did, and if he did drink, he would find it marvelous, if a bit hot. It was soothing though, a nice treat after having had nothing but boiled water for days. After a few sips, the woman finally spoke again, though her words were perhaps not what Clyde expected. "You shouldn't be here." She paused to take another sip. "None of you should. You are in grave danger."

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde watched as the woman examined him, for a very tense time for him. Eventually it seemed that she was okay with his reasoning for being there, at least to an extant, as she sighed and tucked away her weapon. Much less threatening than holding it up, and waving it defensively in his face. Clyde held onto his staff, looking over at Rye. He did not seem to be getting upset, so he supposed he was safe. She did respond with a rather reasonable reason for being there, that it was her home. He probably could have assumed as much, though he still felt this was an odd place to set up camp, or to live by your lonesome. He was interested in the fact that she had made such a sudden change though, even inviting him in for tea. He watched as she poured tea into a pair of cups, both from the same kettle. And since she did not seem to have any time to slip anything in... He supposed that she had not been trying to poison him... He might as well drink some of the tea. It would be a nice change. Clyde looked around, and it seemed a bit odd... it seemed... Almost sculpted out of the rock... Like it was one thing... Anyone else seeing it might have wondered on this, but one idea did come to Clyde's mind, due to his being so skilled in it... Reimancy... It was quite possible this place had been formed out of the rock, using earth reimancy. Which meant this woman might be a powerful wizard! if she was able to live like this out here by herself, surely she was not just any woman. She had to have skills that would allow her to do as she had. And magic seemed a likely way. As Clyde took his first sip of tea, which was very hot, but tasty, he focused his djed. Working it up for a moment, he got a chunk ready, and pushed it into his eyes. He would try some simple auristics, just to see the woman's aura. It was not likely he would gather much info, but he could likely at least see the size of her aura, and tell if she was a wizard. Usually such things left obvious traces, and seeing that someone was a personal magic user was usually simple, taking only a few seconds of inspection. Though telling what magic they could use was quite more difficult. Just as he had built up his djed, and was ready to use auristics to try to inspect her aura, she spoke once more, "You shouldn't be here... None of you should. You are in grave danger." "What... What do you mean? Why are we in danger? Why shouldn't we be here?" Clyde asked, hoping to get an answer, either from her aura, or from speaking to her. Though her last statement had come across as quite ominous.

[Verilian]

Clyde Sullins Clyde's auristics would reveal the fact that the konti was indeed a user of magic. Traces of both divine and personal magic coursed through her aura, the divine much stronger than the personal magic, however. If she was a reimancer it had been some time since she had used her magic, for it's aura was faint on her. Oh, but the divine, that was strong. Probably stronger than most such auras Clyde had seen. Not godly, no, far from it in fact, but she did posses powerful gnosis. If the woman noticed Clyde was reading her aura she did not say anything about it, she merely sipped at her tea while Clyde questioned her about what sort of danger they were in. She knew, as did most of her people, but what would she tell him? What was the point? Still, he was charming, even if he didn't mean to be. And his dog seemed to trust him, which was a good thing. "Something is.. coming. I don't know exactly what.. but a powerful.. storm is heading our way. It will be here soon, tomorrow, I believe. If you remain here on the beach, you will all surely die." The woman stood up, taking the tea kettle with her, and placing it back near the fire. She hadn't been expecting this. She hadn't seen this, and no word had reached her of this from the isle. "..there is no point in running, the storm will hit all the world. Nowhere is safe. The closest city, Syliras, has already shut its gates. All visitors are being turned away. I suppose I could shelter a few of you here.. but not all of you. I don't have the space." The konti returned to her seat, still sipping at her tea. "Tell your people to get to high ground, if they can find it. It will at least protect you from the flooding, but I don't know what other dangers you might find there. Bring some here, if you wish, but I can only take a handful. ...I doubt you will have much success, either way. Your people will not believe you, if you even believe me. You will see though, soon enough." OOCSo I've decided that since you are pretty much the only one posting now, and I seem to be having a busy work schedule, I'm going to go ahead and Un-Timelock this thread. I don't intend to kill you, just don't mention the events of this thread in any other threads until it's all played out. But I don't want to have you frozen all season long.