[Zeltiva] Every Bit Helps (Open)

[Saeriel]

Spring, Day 21, 512 AV Saeriel charged the Axe wielding man once more, sending a flurry of blows up into his axe. He managed to block them and then caught Saeriel off guard kicking her in the torso and sending her flying a good forty feet and she landed flat on her back. She stood back up, a pain in her stomach but she ignored it for now. That's when another man came out of the forest and judging by his clothing, probably the leader though he only carried a dagger. Saeriel thought for a moment then knew what she was going to do. She charged them both and once in range of the axe man, who sliced at her with his axe, she parried his blow and continued to run slicing him in the back at his waist and spun around, parrying the man with the dagger, grabbed his hand holding it above her and ran him through his stomach. Blood quickly surrounded the wound and began to bubble out of his mouth so she let go of him and kicked him down. She searched the bodies finding nothing as to who they were and only finding a bit of coin. It was now that she checked her body for injuries and she found she'd taken a blow on the top of her shoulder where her dress, and armor because it was night leather, was at it's thinnest and though the armor had stopped it some, she still had a huge gash that was gushing blood. She made no move to treat the injury. Saeriel sheathed her sword and while walking up to Tallis muttered something relating to her injury that sounded like: "Well, that's inconvenient...and this dress is going to need mending...yay." Once she got to Tallis she spoke to him: "Well, we're safe for now. If you aren't done with harvesting the Yarrow. I would recommend you finish. If you are done, than I would recommend we leave this location. By appearance they only seemed to be highwaymen so I doubt there's anyone else around but you never know." oocSorry it's short

[Tallis]

OOCextremely rushed, sorry for any mistakes

Tallis watched as the peahen waged her futile effort in the battle. The fact that her sudden attack had turned into a hasty retreat signalled to Tallis that she had been hurt, despite his efforts to keep her away from the battle. The bird would require medical attention as soon as possible. Although Tallis wanted to take care of the peahen, he knew that the best thing he could do for her would be making sure that the battle ended as soon as possible. However, Tallis clearly needn’t have worried. In a fluid motion, Saeriel dispatched both the axe wielder and another intruder with a dagger. Apparently she had no qualms about killing, but Tallis did. The axe wielder might have a chance at life, but a slash to the back meant that he would probably be crippled for the rest of his life, and Tallis was completely sure that the man with the dagger would not reach help in time. Although he should have felt relief or even happiness, all Tallis felt was grief and sickness. These were regular people who had probably fallen to violence as a means of survival in these harsh times. The Djed storms had driven many people to madness. If Tallis had a choice, he would’ve run away, or at least merely knocked them out as he had done with the swordsman. Chills ran through him as he watched Saeriel walk towards him. How did a girl who supposedly viewed hunting as a sport turn so quickly into a cold-blooded killer? Perhaps it was self-defence, but Tallis had managed to dispatch his attacker without fatally wounding him. Suppressing his feeling, Tallis focused on gathering more medicinal herbs. Hopefully he could help save more people than he had helped kill. Surveying the damage, Tallis noticed the wounds on both of his companions. Taking the natural option available to him, he decided to make use of the bounty of herbs around him. Grabbing an armful of Yarrow, Tallis stripped the plant of its leaves, and offered them to Saeriel: “Chew these into a paste and spread them on your wound. They’ll ease the pain and stop the bleeding.” Stuffing a few of the leaves in his own mouth, Tallis began chewing. Normally he would have noticed the bitter green taste of the leaves, but today he was just happy that it gave him an excuse to stop talking. Producing another flow of res, Tallis directed the substance to flow around his feet, then Saeriel’s feet, and finally the peahen’s lower body. The result was an aura that Tallis transmuted to air and solidified. Since sound travelled through the vibrations in the air, the solidified air around their feet meant that every step they took made absolutely no sound. There was no crinkle of leaves or cracking of twigs, just pure silence. This served to hide them from and alert them of anyone approaching. Tallis would do his best to make sure that they avoided any more killing. All he wanted to do was get the herbs he had been asked to get and bring them back to the citizens who needed it. Nothing more, nothing less. Picking up his pack from where he had dropped it, Tallis began his search for Marjoram.

[Saeriel]

Spring, Day 21, 512 AV Saeriel tensed as Res coming from Tallis surrounded her feet, Tallis' feet, and the peahen's body and solidified it. When she took a step she noticed no sound came from her feet and she thought to herself Hmmmm, well that's convenient. Saeriel took the leaves of Yarrow from Tallis but eyed them with suspicion. For all she knew they were poisonous, but looking from the leaves and to him and after a brief summing up of him from what she knew of him Saeriel decided that he wouldn't have it in him to poison her. At least, she hoped not because if she was wrong she'd be dead, or sickly at least, so she was still taking a chance but isn't that what she'd done most of her life? That's when she saw Tallis chewing the same leaves, at least they looked the same, so she shrugged and as he had instructed her, Saeriel put the leaves in her mouth and chewed. They were bitter and tasted like, well, leaves. Nothing more or less. Once Saeriel had chewed them to the sufficient paste she took the paste out of her mouth and spread the paste on the wound, which was now starting to ache now that the adrenaline was starting to fall out of her system. Fairly quickly any blood that was still oozing out of the wound now stopped almost completely and the ache was now starting to fade into a dull and distant memory. Saeriel watched Tallis picked up his pack and began searching for, most likely, another plant of some sort. Saeriel could tell that following the battle Tallis was uncomfortable. Perhaps it was that he was a bit shocked by the battle since from what Saeriel knew, those who work in medicine generally don't fight. But it seemed he wanted to stop talking to her, or not be around her, perhaps he was scared of her. Saeriel didn't know or particularly care and so she shoved the thoughts away and followed Tallis, and loosing sight of the peahen Saeriel figured it followed them both as well or went ahead. She didn't know what plant Tallis was looking for so she didn't know what to do. So instead of attempting to do that Saeriel decided to take it easy for a bit. She found a relatively large tree with large, thick branches and after looking it over she found no signs of any of the common plants on trees, that most everyone knew about who spent time in the wilds, that were poisonous she grabbed hold of the rough but sturdy bark and climbed the tree wincing as her should wound was having a fit about it. Once she got to a decent height she found a branch that she could sit on but still see around the area for any possible threats and see what Tallis was doing. Saeriel sat on the branch much like Ranger might, with on foot propped on the branch and one dangling off while leaning slightly. Once Saeriel got comfortable, Saeriel sat and watched. oocI guess you were waiting on me Ndale? If not and you were just otherwise engaged I apologize for getting the post order out of order.

[Ndale Soromund]

It reminded her of one of the larger cat species fighting each other or the pair of malformed hawks she had seen the other day clawing each other until they plummeted to the earth in their final flight. But it was different and she was wary, the man was no fighter, in fact she had not seen him move but the woman was a killer. Danger. But if she was picking plants how dangerous was she? Her thoughts stopped abruptly as she felt the breeze ruffle beneath her. And yet it was not a breeze, her gaze snapped to the male and his outstretched fingers. Just what did he think he was doing? Her heart pumped awkwardly in another fit of mild panic but she otherwise felt nothing more save for…something. She was not quite sure how to describe it, perhaps like clothes? Ndales initial fear gone she was a bit curious. How had he done that? And to what purpose? Seeing the other two begin walking she realized she would not find her answers or get back to Zeltiva if she did not continue her little hunting party. Standing fluffing out her feathers she walked with a gimp, the pain in her arm still throbbing like a second heartbeat. But something was off. Her head swiveled around, seeing the people and following them closely, she couldn’t put her wing on it but something was gone. Stolen. It had something to do with the silence and not the tense silence that reigned between her human companions, it was something more. Ah! That was it! Silence! Her feet made no sound…but why? Oh. The man’s little trick earlier. She felt a small ripple go through her. Humans were powerful and strange, still she found any apprehension gone at her new game. While she did keep an eye out to watch the humans she was enjoyed darting around as much as she was able, content that she made not a sound. She pretended she was a predator with much sharper teeth than her own or the humans. Every few moments holding back and creeping up on the humans as they walked. So this was how a cat felt when it followed her along the edge. Powerful. Silent. Fun! But her game ended as quickly as it had begun. The humans were back to their earlier quest. Hunting for odd plants that she did not find very tasteful in the least, they served no purpose other than a pretty decoration in windows. Ndale glanced at both before settling herself midway between them, alternating between plucking at the plants similar to what the man plucked and preening herself. The silence annoyed her though for not even her slight movements made a noise and intent on making some sort of chatter she began to honk and chirp at the two humans. Questioning them in her bird form, finding great amusement in the fact that they had no clue what she said, whether she insulted them, question them or simply spoke random thoughts.

[Tallis]

Tallis and the peahen moved on in silence under Saeriel’s careful watch. The peahen appeared to enjoy her newfound silence, flitting in and out of sight. Indeed, Tallis found that his mind was also calmed within the quiet. With the sounds of the small group silenced by his magic, Tallis noticed just how noiseless the forest truly was. Besides the occasional gust of wind rattling a few branches and twigs, there seemed to be no other sounds. It was as if all the flora and fauna had ceased to move. With silence surrounding him in all directions, Tallis’ other senses felt heightened. As such, it took him very little time to find another sunny clearing. The clearing Tallis walked into was a wide hill. The sun shone directly on the slopes and Tallis could see patches of Marjoram growing here and there, pushing itself out of the ground before its neighbours. Tallis quickly opened his pack and began harvesting the unassuming green herb. A sudden jarring squawk interrupted Tallis’ work and he looked up in surprise. Standing straight above him, the peahen sounded off again, apparently tired of the unsettling silence. He wasn’t sure what came over him, but Tallis looked the peahen in the eye and began talking to it in as soothing a tone as he could muster. It had proven intelligent before, maybe it would listen to him. “I’m really sorry. I know you don’t like it this quiet, but it’s for your own good. We don’t want those bad men to find us again. They want to hurt us, and we don’t like being hurt, right? So just, stay quiet, alright?”

[Saeriel]

Spring, Day 21, 512 AV Saeriel watched Tallis with intrigue as he gathered his herbs but She no longer asked about them as he seemed a bit distant. Saeriel jumped down off of her sitting position and followed Tallis into the clearing and leaned on a tree at the edge of the clearing. When the Peahen started squawking it made her uneasy as this undoubtedly was a tactical blunder considering that it could be heard for miles and any enemies, mainly the ones Tallis hadn't killed for whatever reason, could find them easier. Tallis then began talking to the Peahen and this made Saeriel chuckle some.

[Ndale Soromund]

OOCSaeriel I have Ndale making a nuisance of herself so you can feel free to nudge her away or whichever. Also, I am not sure what exactly you both have in mind concerning the earlier bandit men so I left it open for you guys to decide. ^-^ She was not surprised when the human spoke to her. Some humans were good at those things. They knew she understood and did not scold her as a child or unintelligent animal. They treat her as if she were, well, whatever it was she was. Cocking her head slightly she weighed his words. Predators roamed more freely after the storm that much was true. And if nothing else those humans were predators. Not to mention she was no fighter and nor was the man picking plants it seemed. Still she did not want to be silent; silence would not give her answers. And it was boring. Letting out a puff of air and ruffle of feathers Ndale ducked her head in something akin to a sigh. She would listen but she did not have to be happy about it. Standing once more she glanced at the herbs the man still picked. Whether or not she made noise she had no doubt the other predators would find them. Silence was helpful but not all things needed magic’s to be silent. And the in the same manner he hunted plants those men and other beasts would surely hunt them. Deciding the man to be entertaining but having silenced her she wandered over to the woman. Halfway there she saw it. A small little lizard much too fat to be just a lizard, it ran in an awkward half circle, indicating its injury. Ndale was tempted to lunge after it but the drop of the hill told her she would be in pain and very hungry if she attempted this feat. Instead she settled for sitting at the human woman’s feet, peering up at her as if she would be the one to talk. But it did not seem as if the woman truly noticed her. Her eyes swiveled around and seemed to take in the scenery and pick it apart. Watchful. Still Ndale was not on to be ignored and she began peaking at the woman’s shoe in boredom, a stray thought of wishing something would find them flitting through her mind. Or at least something edible and easy to catch would find them.

[Tallis]

Suddenly something alerted Tallis. Standing up and dusting off his knees, Tallis scanned the forest around him. As his eyes swept over the trees behind him, an icy chill gripped Tallis. Yet as suddenly as it had come, it was gone. Turning his attention back to the area where he had felt the disturbance, Tallis began looking through the forest behind him. He could see through quite clearly, but there really wasn’t anything to see. Nothing moved. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was obvious that the peahen had not felt any animalistic instinctive fear and Saeriel’s watchful gaze had not caught anything out of the ordinary. So what was Tallis feeling? Calling upon his Stormwarden powers, Tallis beckoned to the breezes travelling around the area of the forest troubling him, pulling them in towards him. Once again, a wave of nausea washed over Tallis and he recognized the feeling. It was the feeling he got from the corrupted Djed creature that Saeriel had killed earlier on. As he looked back to the forest, he finally noticed it. As the breezes blew through the tree branches, only the leaves of a single tree had stayed still. Tallis turned around to call for his companions: “Hey Saeriel! Could you come here for a second? And bring the bird!” As he turned back to keep an eye on the unmoving tree, something caused Tallis’ hairs to stand on end. The tree HAD moved. It had moved when no one was watching, it had moved in complete silence, it had moved towards Tallis. Now Tallis understood why the peahen had not moved away out of instinct and why Saeriel’s hunter eyes had not noticed anything amiss. No living creature expected a tree to attack them; it was deeply embedded in the most primal parts of the mind that trees weren’t threats. But something told Tallis that this tree was different. about the tree : It moves when no one is looking at it. It will inch ever closer, even while you blink. It will not move when you look at it, but if you point at it and make it known that you have seen it move, it will attack. It isn’t very intelligent and operates under the singular idea of: “Kill intruders.” This isn’t some small tree either. It’s about 4 times as tall as the average man and twice as wide. And it might not be the only one. Feel free to control the tree’s actions. But please PM me if you aren’t 100% sure how the tree will act. Saeriel: When you find Tallis and ask him what’s wrong, he’ll simply tell you: “That tree to my left isn’t natural. It moves, and I’m afraid we must fight it or flee.”

[Saeriel]

Spring, Day 21, 512 AV Saeriel was scanning the clearing and treeline, pacing back and forth, when she heard Tallis' call. Saeriel thought it odd that he would call her, unless something was amiss. Saeriel than went alert, adrenaline beginning to pump through her veins. Saeriel beckoned the peahen over close and to follow her. Saeriel moved quickly and yet moved slowly, or rather cautiously, looking for Tallis and finding him and moving towards him. When she reached him she asked: "What's wrong? Is there something you need?" Tallis didn't look over at her as he was fixated on the treeline in front of him but he replied swiftly with: “That tree to my left isn’t natural. It moves, and I’m afraid we must fight it or flee.” Saeriel was slightly taken aback by the comment. A tree, moving and a threat at that? Awkward to say the least but Saeriel, with the adrenaline ever so building in her blood, thought quickly and in a tactical mindset. Saeriel had three options to turn over in her mind, Fighting the enemy, Diplomacy and Negotiation with the enemy, or fleeing from the enemy. Saeriel first took the fighting option and thought it over but dismissed it as an option because, since it was a tree, her bow and sword would be ineffective and her fire reimancy was limited at best. Though Tallis appeared experienced with reimancy, she had only seen him use air which would not be the best option against such a large object. Saeriel also knew that Tallis, or herself, didn't know how many of these trees may, or may not, exist here meaning there could be multiple enemies. Diplomacy and negotiation was thrown out instantaneously because Saeriel figured that the tree would be of limited intelligence, that is limited to base instincts, at best. Saeriel determined the third option of fleeing to be the best option though risks were involved anyways. Fleeing would provide them with the best chance of survival, even if there were multiple enemies such large trees would not be as quick as either Tallis, the peahen, or herself to grab them.....at least hopefully. This would also allow them to get back to the road and quickly get back to Zeltiva, away from this mucked up forest. Saeriel turned to Tallis and replied: "Fleeing is probably our best option considering our limited combat capabilities against this enemy."